An individual customer deposits at a bank in Hà Nội. Deposits of individual customers increased sharply by 7.08 per cent to more than VNĐ6.28 quadrillion in the first quarter of 2023. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Though deposit interest rates listed at commercial banks have decreased rapidly after the State Bank of Việt Nam's (SBV) policy rate cut, savings of individual customers have kept rising.

The latest data of deposits at commercial banks by the end of March 2023 released last week by the SBV showed unexpected numbers. While deposits of economic organisations decreased sharply by 4.87 per cent compared to the end of last year to more than VNĐ5.66 quadrillion, deposits of individual customers increased by 7.08 per cent to more than VNĐ6.28 quadrillion.

Since the beginning of 2023, the deposits of the individual customers have continuously increased to exceed VNĐ6 quadrillion. Within the first three months of this year, individual customers deposited into the banking system an addition of VNĐ415 trillion.

The deposits of individual customers into the banking system have increased in the context of high savings interest rates in late 2022 and early 2023. The SBV has just begun to reduce the policy interest rate since mid-March this year and after about three months, it made three policy rate cuts.

The deposit interest rate currently decreases rapidly. Many joint-stock commercial banks only list the highest deposit interest rate at around 8 per cent per year, while the highest rate at State-owned commercial banks is about 6.8 per cent per year.

Analysis of some experts showed the deposits of individual customers into the banking system have increased rapidly when other investment channels such as real estate, securities, gold and foreign currencies haven’t been attractive. The stock market has only prospered for about two months and officially surpassed 1,100 points at the beginning of this month.

Meanwhile, deposits of economic organisations have dropped sharply compared to the end of last year, which has reflected difficulties of firms. Instead of depositing at banks as previously, firms had to withdraw their savings to pay for production and business activities.

Analysts of SSI Securities Company said the deposit interest rate is continuing to cool down, but it is still quite different between groups of State-owned commercial banks and joint-stock banks for tenors of more than six months.

In its June strategy report released last week, Yuanta Vietnam Securities Company said the common interest rate of 12-month deposits listed at commercial banks currently falls to less than 8 per cent per year.

The SBV has also required banks to reduce lending rates by using credit growth quota for management so interest rates are continuing their downward trend. However, the rate cut of lending rates will lag behind deposit rates.