Vietnam Auto Loan Rates Hit 17-18%: Pressure on VPB, TPB, VIB, VCB

Overview

Floating interest rates on Vietnamese auto loans have climbed to 17-18% per year, and close to 20% for borrowers who decline bundled hull insurance, according to a VnExpress survey of retail lenders. The reset hits borrowers at VPBank (HOSE: VPB) hardest in the reported cases, with TPBank (TPB), VIB and Vietcombank (VCB) also active in the segment. The shift matters because it raises monthly repayment burdens just as deposit costs push the whole lending curve higher.

Key Facts

• A VPBank borrower in Khánh Hòa saw his auto-loan rate reset to 16.8% per year from 1 October, up 2 percentage points from 14.8% in the prior interest period.
• The same borrower owes roughly VND 300 million on an original VND 500 million, 8-year loan and now pays VND 9 million per month in principal and interest.
• A second VPBank customer reported a reset from 16.4% to 18.3% per year from early October, paying over VND 13 million per month on VND 500 million of remaining debt.
• Borrowers who do not buy hull insurance through the bank face an additional 3% margin under contract terms, pushing effective rates to roughly 20% per year.
• Floating auto-loan rates at TPBank and VIB are commonly 14-15% per year, while Shinhan Bank sits near 12%; new promotional fixed rates are 9.2-10.5% at TPBank and 9-9.5% at VIB.
• One third of Vietnamese banks now pay 9% or more on deposits, and State Bank of Vietnam data show average lending rates of 8.4-10.7% as of August, up 0.2 percentage points month-on-month and about 3 percentage points year-on-year.
• VCBS expects the high deposit-rate environment to persist, citing a wide credit-deposit gap, competition in the 6-13 month tenor, and rising core inflation.

What Happened

The article documents the experience of retail borrowers whose promotional auto-loan periods have expired. Anh Minh Phú, a Khánh Hòa-based borrower who took a VND 500 million, 8-year loan from VPBank three years ago to buy a car for service work, saw his rate reset to 16.8% per year from 1 October, up from 14.8%. He described the 2 percentage point jump as a significant strain given weakening demand for ride-hailing and service driving. A second VPBank customer reported a reset to 18.3% from 16.4%.

According to the survey, contracts at some banks add a 3% margin for borrowers who do not purchase hull insurance through the lender, taking post-promotion rates to nearly 20% per year. Promotional fixed rates remain far lower, at 9.2-10.5% for the first year at TPBank and 9-9.5% at VIB, which means the pain is concentrated in the back book rather than new disbursements. The article attributes the deposit-rate data to market surveys and the lending-rate figures to the State Bank of Vietnam, with the outlook from Vietcombank Securities (VCBS).

Market Context

VPB closed at 23,000 VND on 8 October, down 1.07% on volume of 537,200 shares, while TPB closed at 12,000 VND (-0.42%) and VCB at 57,000 VND (-0.17%); VIB last traded at 13,900 VND. The rate reset story lands in a banking sector already digesting a higher deposit floor, with one third of banks paying 9% or more. For VPB, a retail-heavy lender with a large consumer-finance franchise, the combination of rising funding costs and stretched auto-loan borrowers speaks directly to net interest margin and retail credit quality.

Strategic Significance

The strategic issue is not the headline rate but the composition of bank retail books. Promotional fixed rates of 9-10% for the first year are loss-leaders designed to win auto-loan volume; the economics depend on borrowers refinancing, cross-buying insurance, or absorbing the floating reset without defaulting. A 17-20% floating rate after the honeymoon period raises the probability of early prepayment, restructuring, or delinquency in the service-driving segment, where income is variable. For VPB, TPB and VIB, which compete hardest in unsecured and vehicle-backed retail lending, the risk is a slower-than-expected margin recovery as funding costs stay elevated and credit costs normalize. VCB, with a lower retail-risk appetite and cheaper deposit franchise, is comparatively insulated but not immune to sector-wide repricing.

What to Watch

• Q3 2026 earnings releases from VPB, TPB, VIB and VCB, particularly net interest margin guidance and retail non-performing loan ratios.
• State Bank of Vietnam monthly average lending-rate data for September and October, to confirm whether the 8.4-10.7% range continues to drift higher.
• Deposit-rate moves at the 6-13 month tenor, the segment VCBS identifies as the most competitive.
• Any regulatory guidance on bundled insurance practices in auto lending, which would change the effective 20% ceiling.
• Auto-loan disbursement and prepayment disclosures in Q4 filings, as an early read on borrower stress.