VIB Cuts Deposit Rates 0.5pp, Launches VND 15 Trillion Credit Package

Overview

Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB), listed on HOSE, has cut deposit rates by up to 0.5 percentage points per year and launched a VND 15 trillion preferential credit package for enterprises in state-priority sectors, with new loan rates reduced by as much as 1.5% per year. The bank also cut fixed-rate home loan pricing by 1 percentage point per year, framing the moves as a response to Government and State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) direction to lower the lending rate floor.

Key Facts

• Deposit rates cut by up to 0.5 percentage points per year, concentrated in tenors above 6 months.
• New VND 15 trillion credit package for enterprises in priority sectors, with loan rates reduced by up to 1.5% per year under program conditions.
• Priority sectors named: supporting industry (materials, components, parts), infrastructure, public investment, renewable energy and exports.
• Retail home loans with fixed rates for 12 and 24 months cut by a further 1% per year at selected terms.
• VIB fixes home loan rates for up to 5 years, which the bank describes as among the longest fixed-rate tenors in the market.
• The package is tied to credit quality and repayment capacity; approval is assessed case by case.
• No total package value for the retail home-loan segment is disclosed in the article.

What Happened

According to the bank’s announcement, VIB reduced deposit rates by up to 0.5 percentage points per year across selected tenors, focusing on maturities above six months, while trimming operating costs and balancing funding and lending to create room for lower customer funding costs. On the lending side, the bank cut rates on new corporate loans relative to its current schedule and introduced the VND 15 trillion package for priority-sector borrowers, with discounts of up to 1.5% per year depending on program conditions.

Hàn Ngọc Vũ, Chief Executive Officer of VIB, said the bank intends to keep aligning with Government and SBV direction by lowering funding costs from deposit-taking through to lending, while developing credit solutions matched to actual customer needs. He said cheaper capital must go together with access to funding and suitability of loan structures, adding that VIB will continue reviewing preferential programs while tying credit approval to capital efficiency and repayment capacity. For retail customers, the bank applied an additional 1 percentage point per year reduction on home loans with fixed rates for 12 and 24 months at selected terms.

Market Context

VIB closed at VND 13,750 on 20 October 2026 on HOSE. The move sits within a broader Vietnamese banking-sector push to lower lending rates under Government and SBV guidance, a dynamic that compresses net interest margins when deposit cuts lag loan repricing. VIB’s emphasis on tenors above six months and on fixed-rate home loans suggests the bank is defending its retail mortgage franchise while competing for corporate borrowers in manufacturing, infrastructure and export segments ahead of the year-end credit season.

Strategic Significance

The package is best read as a volume-and-franchise play rather than a margin story. By cutting deposit costs first and then repricing new corporate loans, VIB limits net interest margin damage while positioning itself in supporting industry, public investment and renewable energy borrowers that the state is actively steering credit toward. The five-year fixed-rate home loan offer is the more distinctive lever: it locks in retail customers for longer than typical Vietnamese mortgage products, supporting cross-sell of insurance and cards, but it also leaves the bank exposed if funding costs do not keep falling. Execution on credit quality, not headline rate cuts, will determine whether the strategy adds durable earnings.

What to Watch

• VIB’s next quarterly disclosure of net interest margin and deposit mix, to gauge whether the 0.5 percentage point cut is fully offset.
• Disbursement progress against the VND 15 trillion package and the share allocated to supporting industry versus infrastructure and renewable energy.
• SBV policy statements or rate directives that could extend or reverse the sector-wide easing cycle.
• Credit growth and bad-debt ratios in VIB’s corporate and mortgage books at the next financial statements.
• Any further retail rate adjustments, particularly on the five-year fixed-rate home loan product.