Vietnam Bank Lending Rates Hit 10.7% in August: VIB Leads Increase

Overview

Average lending rates at more than 20 Vietnamese banks rose in August 2026, with the system-wide average reaching 10.7%/year, up 0.2 percentage points month-on-month, according to Ngân hàng Nhà nước (SBV) data. VIB (HOSE) recorded the sharpest increase among disclosing banks, lifting its average lending rate 0.8 percentage points to 9.08%/year. The move matters for listed banks and securities firms because higher funding costs are compressing the spread between loan and deposit rates across the sector.

Key Facts

• System-wide average lending rate: 10.7%/year in August, up 0.2 percentage points from July and roughly 3 percentage points above loans disbursed a year earlier.
• VIB’s average lending rate: 9.08%/year, up 0.8 percentage points month-on-month, the largest increase among banks that disclosed.
• VIB’s spread between average lending and deposit rates: 2.34%.
• Techcombank (TCB): 11.2%/year, up 0.58 percentage points.
• Other banks above 10%/year: OCB 10.94%, BVBank 10.8%, VietABank 10.76%, VikkiBank 10.51%, BaoVietBank 10.5%, TPBank 10.47%, HDBank 10.4%, PVcomBank 10.25%, LPBank 10.19%.
• Maximum deposit rate for 6-12 month terms: 8%/year, up 0.2 percentage points; above 24 months: 8.1%/year.
• State-owned and joint-stock commercial banks’ average lending rates for new and outstanding loans: 8.4-10.7%/year; short-term rates for priority sectors around 4%/year.

What Happened

As of September 21, more than 20 banks had published their average lending rates for August. VIB recorded the strongest month-on-month increase, with its average lending rate reaching 9.08%/year, 0.8 percentage points higher than July, leaving a 2.34% gap over its average deposit rate. Techcombank reported 11.2%/year, up 0.58 percentage points, the highest level among the banks cited. A broad group of lenders, including OCB, BVBank, VietABank, VikkiBank, BaoVietBank, TPBank, HDBank, PVcomBank and LPBank, all reported average lending rates above 10%/year.

According to SBV data, the system-wide average lending rate for August stood at 10.7%/year, 0.2 percentage points higher than July and about 3 percentage points above the rate on loans disbursed a year earlier. The SBV also reported that deposit rates are rising in parallel: the highest 6-12 month deposit rate reached 8%/year, up 0.2 percentage points, while terms above 24 months reached 8.1%/year. Large or promotional deposits have been arranged above 9.7%/year, with some cases near 10%/year subject to size and tenor conditions. SSI Securities analysts noted that in a high-rate environment, banks tend to shift credit composition toward medium- and long-term loans rather than short-term credit.

Market Context

VIB closed at 13,350 VND on September 21, 2026 on HOSE, while TCB closed at 32,250 VND, OCB at 10,450 VND and BVB at 11,200 VND. The rate disclosures arrive as the sector’s funding costs trend higher, a shift from the relatively low lending-rate environment maintained earlier. For listed banks, the combination of rising deposit rates and a system-wide average lending rate of 10.7%/year sets up a margin test: banks that can reprice assets faster than liabilities, or that hold a larger share of long-tenor loans, are better positioned than those reliant on short-term credit. The securities sector, represented here by SSI, is affected indirectly through credit demand and capital-market activity.

Strategic Significance

For long-term investors, the key variable is not the headline lending rate but the spread. VIB’s 2.34% gap between average lending and deposit rates is the number to track: it indicates how much of the funding-cost increase the bank has passed through to borrowers. Banks that disclosed rates above 10%/year, including TCB, OCB, BVBank, VietABank, TPBank, HDBank and LPBank, are repricing loan books more aggressively, which supports revenue but risks borrower attrition and slower credit growth. The SSI observation that banks are shifting toward medium- and long-term lending suggests the sector is trading near-term volume for duration and yield, a strategy that works if deposit rates stabilize but exposes banks to repricing risk if they do not.

What to Watch

• Q3 2026 earnings releases from VIB, TCB, OCB and other listed banks, particularly net interest margin commentary.
• September and October average lending-rate disclosures to confirm whether the 10.7%/year system average continues to climb.
• SBV policy statements or deposit-rate guidance, given the 8%/year ceiling on 6-12 month deposits.
• Credit growth data from the SBV, to assess whether higher rates are slowing loan demand.
• Foreign-ownership and block-trade filings for VIB and TCB, which can signal institutional positioning around the rate cycle.