A number of banks have begun their own programs to cut interest rates following a State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) decision to raise credit limits by 1.5-2.0 percentage points on December 5.

SHB has announced it will prioritize offering lower interest rates to customers in fields including agriculture, rural development, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and green projects. It will also support businesses in need of capital to produce essential commodities and necessities to serve local year-end demand.

VIB has started a program to offer an interest rate reduction of 1.5 percentage points to individuals and SMEs.

MB, meanwhile, has designed its own incentive package, slashing lending rates by 0.5 to 1 percentage points annually for priority fields such as export production. A source at the bank said digitization has helped it cut costs while attracting a large volume of non-term deposits at low interest rates, which has allowed it to reduce its lending rates.

According to the SBV, the allocation of credit growth limits prioritizes banks with strong liquidity and the capacity to reduce interest rates.

Figures show that 12 banks, including Agribank, Vietcombank, HDBank, and ACB, have committed to reduce interest rates from 0.5 to 3 percentage points annually with a total amount of VND3.312 trillion ($140 million), to support businesses and individuals.