News about savings accounts

According to the rate schedule posted the morning of October 19, 12-month at-branch deposit rates at these five banks range from 5.3% to 6.9% a year, with VPBank highest at 6.9% and ACB lowest at 5.3%. On a VND 200 million deposit, at-branch interest would be between VND 10.6 million and VND 13.8 million, a VND 3.2 million gap between VPBank and ACB. Online, rates range from 5.8% to 7.1%; VPBank again leads with VND 14.2 million, while ACB is lowest at VND 11.6 million. These figures assume interest is paid at maturity, the deposit is held for the full 12 months, and there is no early withdrawal; actual rates may vary by time, product and each bank's conditions.

One-year fixed savings rates have reached 4.41%, the highest since September 2024, and the average fixed rate across all terms is 4.49%. Personal finance experts say savers could earn about £215 more a year on £10,000 by choosing a 5.15% account instead of one paying 3%. Caitlyn Eastell of Moneyfacts notes that non-ISA fixed rates have risen for over six months, and top rates across all terms are above 5% for the first time since December 2023. Fixed bonds lock money away for the full term, so savers risk missing out if rates rise further. Meanwhile, £4.4 billion flowed into ISAs in August, ahead of the cash ISA changes in April.

The average net-of-fee return on money market funds (MMFs) has fallen to 9.3% as of October 15, from 9.9% at the same time last year, reflecting lower interest rates on the funds' underlying assets. Domestic rates, including Treasury bills and commercial bank fixed deposits, have dropped further this year, reducing the return MMFs can generate from cash and near-cash investments.

An online survey of deposit rates at 35 banks on October 18 shows Sacombank offering the highest 12-month rate at 7.5% per year, while VPBank leads the 18-month term at 7.9% per year. Agribank, BIDV, Vietcombank and VietinBank all list 6.8% per year for 12 months. At the other end, SCB offers the lowest rates in the list, at 3.7% for 12 months and 3.9% for 18 months. The article puts the gap between the highest and lowest 12-month rates at 3.8 percentage points, and between the highest and lowest 18-month rates at 4 percentage points.

The State Bank of Vietnam has instructed banks to cut savings deposit rates by at least 0.5% for terms of 6 months or longer, and lower lending rates for production, business and priority sectors by 1.5–2 percentage points, or face tighter credit growth quotas. In a document dated October 18, the regulator said listed top savings rates had climbed to 7.6–7.8% a year since late April, while preferential rates at many banks reach 8.5–9.5% a year. Non-compliant banks could see their remaining credit limits for the year reviewed, receive lower targets next year, or face higher safety ratios. Banks are also told to prioritize lending to production and innovation, tightly control high-risk credit, report asset quality honestly without hiding bad debt, and balance deposit mobilization with capital use.