Eighteen banks have raised their deposit rates since the start of March. The move has not been limited to private banks; major lenders such as Agribank, Vietcombank, BIDV, and VietinBank have also joined, signaling rising funding pressures across the sector.
In March, the money market saw notable movement as deposit rates rose sharply at many banks. The wave of adjustments has extended beyond small and mid-sized banks to include the system’s big players, underscoring mounting funding pressures.
As of the start of March, eighteen banks raised their deposit rates, including VPBank, Sacombank, VietBank, MB, SHB, NCB, Techcombank, VietinBank, BIDV, BVBank, Vietcombank, Agribank, Saigonbank, OCB, MBV, Bac A Bank, TPBank, and VCBNeo. The published rates rose by typically 0.5–1.2 percentage points depending on tenor, with the strongest increases usually concentrated in tenors of 12 months or longer. Short-term rates under six months at most banks remain at the regulatory ceiling of 4.75% per year.
At VPBank, rates for 10–12 month tenors have been raised to 7.1% per year, up 0.4–0.8 percentage points from end-February after three increases in a short period.
Techcombank also posted strong adjustments: 6–11 month tenors up about 0.8% per year and 12 months up nearly 0.9% per year. With promotional programs, the effective rate on some products can exceed 8% per year.
Sacombank was among the banks lifting rates significantly in March, with a 0.5–0.9 percentage point increase for tenors of six months and longer.
MB also posted substantial gains, especially on longer tenors. The 12-month tenor rose by 1.1% per year, and some longer tenors reached as high as 7.5% per year, placing MB among the market’s top-rate listings.
Not only private banks, the Big Four—Vietcombank, BIDV, VietinBank, and Agribank—also joined after a period of keeping rates subdued. They collectively raised deposit rates by 0.2–1.2 percentage points across most tenors; the 24-month tenor rose sharply from 5.3% to 6.5% per year, an increase of 1.2 percentage points.
Beyond published rates, actual deposit rates at many banks are higher than the published rates on their websites, with some branches offering above 8% per year, and even approaching 9% per year.
Causes of the strong rise in deposit rates include several factors. First, banks’ funding demand is increasing as lending growth accelerates; rate hikes are a tool to improve funding structure, ensure liquidity safety ratios, and preserve headroom for lending in coming quarters.
Second, international rates remain high, keeping global funding costs from easing as expected and adding indirect pressure on domestic rates. In addition to macro factors, competition for deposits within the banking system is intensifying; when large banks raise rates, others follow to retain customers, especially smaller private banks.
MBS Securities notes that even though deposit rates rose by 1–1.5 percentage points in 2025, funding growth in 2026 has been limited relative to lending growth, and the supply-demand gap persists. To narrow this gap, deposit rates are likely to continue increasing in the near term until loan-to-deposit ratios are better controlled, helping rates find a balance.
VCBS maintains the view that deposit rates will keep rising due to ongoing funding pressures in the system, driven by high lending growth and strong disbursement of public investment in 2026; however, the pace of increase is unlikely to repeat the previous surge. The main risk appears among mid-to-small private banks that rely heavily on customer deposits and have less flexible funding structures. Heightened geopolitical tensions could constrain the central bank’s policy space. In a negative scenario, deposit rates could rise across all banks in both speed and scale to safeguard exchange rate stability and curb inflation.
ACBS also expects deposit rates to continue rising in the first half of 2026 until the exchange rate environment improves and geopolitical tensions ease, stabilizing domestic
foreign exchange inflows.
Sacombank—strongly lifting deposit rates across most tenors.
