Vietcombank (VCB) Pledges at Least 2% Lending Rate Cut Through Year-End

Overview

Vietcombank (VCB) chairman Nguyễn Thanh Tùng told the National Assembly on 17 October 2026 that the bank commits to reducing lending rates by at least 2% from now through the end of the year. The statement came during a group discussion on the draft Law on Small and Medium Enterprise Development, alongside amendments to the Securities Law and the Accounting and Independent Audit Laws. For VCB, the largest listed bank on HOSE by market capitalisation, the pledge frames a trade-off between policy cooperation and net interest margin.

Key Facts

• Vietcombank commits to a minimum 2% reduction in lending rates from 17 October 2026 through year-end.
• The commitment was made by Nguyễn Thanh Tùng, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietcombank and a National Assembly deputy for Hồ Chí Minh City.
• The statement was delivered at a 17 October 2026 National Assembly group discussion on the draft Law on SME Development.
• SMEs account for roughly 98% of Vietnamese enterprises, per the chairman’s remarks as cited in the article.
• Delegate Nguyễn Văn Thân cited nearly 6 million household businesses and close to 1 million SMEs nationwide.
• VCB closed at VND 56,900 on 17 October 2026.
• The article does not specify the reference rate from which the 2% cut is measured, nor the affected loan book size.

What Happened

The pledge emerged from a legislative session rather than a corporate filing. On the afternoon of 17 October, National Assembly deputies discussed three draft laws, including the Law on SME Development. Delegate Nguyễn Văn Thân of Hồ Chí Minh City argued that SMEs and household businesses face a widening capital shortfall and called for structural solutions rather than administrative pressure on rates, proposing a sandbox for financial technology, one or two pilot standalone digital banks, and government bond mechanisms to mobilise household savings.

Nguyễn Thanh Tùng, speaking in his capacity as both Vietcombank chairman and a Hồ Chí Minh City deputy, said SMEs represent about 98% of Vietnamese enterprises and acknowledged their financing difficulties. He then stated the bank’s commitment to cut lending rates by at least 2% between now and year-end. The article does not disclose which lending categories, tenors, or customer segments the reduction applies to, and does not state whether the commitment covers new disbursements only or the existing loan book.

Market Context

VCB closed at VND 56,900 on 17 October 2026 on HOSE. Vietnamese bank stocks have traded against a policy backdrop in which the State Bank of Vietnam and the government have repeatedly urged lenders to lower borrowing costs to support credit growth and small business activity. Vietcombank, as a state-influenced joint-stock bank with a large corporate and retail deposit franchise, typically prices at a premium to sector peers, and rate pledges of this kind feed directly into net interest margin assumptions used by analysts. The article does not provide VCB’s recent price performance or sector index comparison.

Strategic Significance

The key question for long-term holders is not the headline 2% figure but its funding source. A lending rate cut of that size, if applied broadly, compresses net interest margin unless deposit costs fall in parallel or the State Bank of Vietnam provides liquidity support. Vietcombank’s low-cost deposit base gives it more room than smaller peers, but the pledge also signals that policy coordination is now an explicit part of the bank’s operating environment. The legislative context matters: if the SME law advances with sandbox and digital-bank provisions, competitive dynamics in small-business lending could shift over the medium term, with fintech and any pilot digital banks taking share in the segment where traditional banks have struggled with unsecured credit.

What to Watch

• Vietcombank’s Q3 2026 results and any disclosed guidance on net interest margin and loan yields.
• State Bank of Vietnam policy decisions on deposit rates and refinancing support through Q4 2026.
• Further National Assembly readings of the Law on SME Development, including the proposed digital bank sandbox.
• VCB disclosures clarifying which lending segments and tenors the 2% reduction covers.
• Monthly credit growth and lending rate data from the State Bank of Vietnam through December 2026.