Dollar lending rates have eased, hovering around 5-8 per cent. ― Photo vietq.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) ― Lending institutions were recently net buyers in foreign currency transactions with their customers and thus had redundant foreign exchange reserves, according to a weekly State Bank of Viet Nam report released Thursday.

"The interest rates for deposits in dollars are still very low compared with those in dong, so exporters have stepped up selling US dollars. Rising inventories and importers hesitating to import goods have also resulted in low demand for this currency," Eximbank general director Truong Van Phuoc told VnExpress.net.

The online newspaper quoted a Ha Noi-based bank's deputy general director as saying that the low demand had pushed down lending interest rates for dollar loans.

The State Bank also said dollar lending rates had eased and now hovered around 5-8 per cent. State-owned banks set the rates at 4-5 per cent for short-term loans and 6-7.5 per cent for medium- and long-term lending. For joint stock banks, the rates are 5.5-6.5 per cent and 6.5-8 per cent, respectively.

The inter-bank exchange rate has stayed at VND20,828 per dollar for many months and based on that, commercial banks are offering VND20,915-20,965 per dollar. On the black market, the rates are about VND280-300 higher.

Some industry insiders said accelerated official assistance (ODA) capital disbursements and increasing remittances had helped keep the exchange rates stable.

"Increased spending in April by foreign tourists also kept the rate stable," a bank official said. ― VNS