Commercial banks in Việt Nam have rolled out post-holiday promotions to lure deposits back into the system as lenders seek to accelerate capital mobilisation for robust credit growth to support double-digit economic expansion.

 

On Monday, the first working day after Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday, Vietcombank offered 10,000 lucky money gifts worth VNĐ100,000 (US$4) each to customers performing transactions at its branches.

 

Nam Á Bank is running a five-day campaign until February 27, giving individual and corporate customers lucky money of up to VNĐ200,000 for over the counter and OneBank transactions.

 

HDBank introduced a savings incentive programme with an additional interest rate of 1.1 percentage points per year to deposits of at least VNĐ50 million, alongside lucky money of up to VNĐ1.68 million.

 

On the God of Wealth Day (February 26), online savers at the bank have a chance to win one tael of SJC gold. Customers depositing from VNĐ50 million can also join livestream lucky draws to receive prizes worth up to VNĐ3 billion.

 

SeABank is running a Tết promotion through April 8, offering lucky draw codes to customers using a range of products and services, from savings and credit cards to loans and digital banking transactions.

 

The aggressive promotions come after peak cash spending during Tết holidays to lure cash back to the banking system as banks are under pressure to bolster medium- and long-term funding to ensure credit growth, liquidity and meet prudential ratios, leaving limited room for deposit rates to decline, experts said.

 

KB Securities Việt Nam (KBSV) forecast that deposit rates are likely to continue rising in 2026, particularly in the first half of the year.

 

KBSV urged attention to liquidity pressure as credit growth is outpacing deposit growth, estimated by around 4 percentage points by the end of 2025.

 

The company also expects lending rates to inch up in the first half of 2026 in line with higher deposit rates as banks are seeking to protect net interest margins, which have declined for several quarters and remain at historically low levels.

 

With credit quotas forecast to be lower for 2026, especially in the property sector, KVSV said that the competitive pressure on lending rates may ease, creating room for further increases in some segments. A brighter economic outlook and stronger credit demand from firms and households could also add to upward pressure on borrowing costs. — VNS

 

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