According to a survey conducted by VietNamNet in Hanoi on June 7, banks are applying three different types of deposit interest rates, including: deposit interest rates at the counter, online deposit interest rates, and actual deposit interest rates.

Accordingly, the interest rate table for deposits at the counter and the interest rate table for deposits online are publicly posted (on the website and at the transaction counter). In theory, online savings will enjoy an interest rate about 1% higher than savings at the counter. But in reality, there is only one interest rate table applied that the bank “does not find it convenient” to publicize.

In other words, many banks are “acting” out a drama of lowering deposit interest rates. In reality, deposit interest rates at the counter are not as low as reported.

Actual interest rate 9%/year

At a TPBank branch in Hoang Mai district, a teller said: “If the deposit is from 100 million VND or more, the interest rate will be 8.2%/year for 6-month and 12-month terms. This interest rate is higher than the online savings interest rate. If you need to deposit, just bring it to the counter and I will do it for you.”

Meanwhile, the interest rate table for depositing money at the counter for individual customers applied by TPBank from June 3 is only 6.3%/year for 6-month term deposits, and 7.2%/year for 12-month term deposits.

Even for online savings deposits, TPBank only applies interest rates of 7.4% and 7.5% per year for 6- and 12-month terms, respectively.

The highest deposit interest rate 'revealed' by staff inviting customers to deposit money at the counter belongs to HDBank. The bank announced the highest online interest rate at present is 7.9%/year, only applicable to 6-month, 12-month and 13-month terms.

However, at a transaction office in Hai Ba Trung district, a bank employee said that the actual deposit interest rate at the counter can be up to 9%/year.

“The interest rate at the counter is listed as 6.6% for a 6-month term, but in reality we add the interest rate to 8.7%. For a 12-13 month term, the interest rate is 9%/year. This interest rate is applied to deposits of VND100 million or more,” said an HDBank employee.

At SeABank , the interest rates for 6-month and 12-month deposits at the counter are 6.8% and 7.3%/year, respectively.

Meanwhile, the online mobilization interest rate announced by SeABank is 7.3%/year and 7.8%/year for 6-month and 12-month terms respectively.

This bank said that this interest rate has been increased by up to 1.2%/year when depositing for a term of 6 months or more and by 0.3%/year when depositing for a term of less than 6 months.

However, at a SeABank branch on Le Trong Tan Street (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi), an employee sitting at the counter said that with deposits of VND100 million or more, the interest rate for a 6-month term will be 8.1%/year, and for a 12-month term it will be 8.2%/year.

When asked if this was the highest interest rate, the employee confirmed: Customers can still receive higher interest rates. If depositing money in the form of receiving interest in advance, the bank will add 0.2% interest on the condition that the amount of interest received in advance is "zoned and frozen" in the savings account.

At a transaction office of Saigon - Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) Hoang Van Thu branch (Hanoi), outside the transaction office, an employee hung a sign stating the highest VND interest rate is up to 9.5%/year.

However, staff at the SHB transaction counter at Hoang Van Thu branch said that the interest rate of 9.5%/year out there is only for 8-year term deposit certificates.

However, this employee quickly introduced the deposit interest rate currently applied by the bank, which is also up to 8%/year for 6-month deposits, and 8.3%/year for 9-month and 12-month deposits.

Meanwhile, the interest rate at the counter as announced by SHB for a 6-month term is only 6.8%/year for deposits under 2 billion VND, and 6.9%/year for deposits from 2 billion VND or more. The interest rate difference between the announced rate and the rate introduced by staff to invite customers is 1.2%.

Even the online interest rate for this term is only listed by SHB at 7.2%/year, 0.8 percentage points lower than the actual interest rate being offered by counter staff.

With a 9-month term interest rate, according to the interest rate table posted at the counter, it is 6.9%/year (for deposits under 2 billion VND) and 7%/year (for deposits from 2 billion VND or more). According to the online deposit interest rate table applied from June 1 to present, the interest rate is 7.2%/year. This interest rate is still much lower than the actual figure of 8.3%/year that SHB is secretly applying.

Similarly, for 12-month term deposits, the difference between listed and actual is up to 1 percentage point.

Among commercial banks, DongA Bank is the only bank that does not mobilize deposits online.

The deposit interest rate table posted by the bank at the counter is unchanged from the interest rate table publicly posted on the website (the highest level is 7.1%/year). However, the combined margin is far different from what DongA Bank announced.

According to Decision No. 950 dated May 23, 2023 of the State Bank of Vietnam, the maximum interest rate applicable to deposits with terms from 1 month to less than 6 months is 5%/year. The interest rate for deposits with terms of 6 months or more is determined by credit institutions based on the supply and demand of capital in the market.

Deputy Governor: 'We believe interest rates will continue to decrease' Mr. Pham Thanh Ha, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), said that in the coming time, interest rates will continue to decrease to support businesses and the economy.