A board displaying the deposit interest rate for July 2023 at a private lender. — VNS Photo Bồ Xuân Hiệp

Industry experts have predicted a potential increase in deposit interest rates by 0.5 to 1 percentage point in the second half of the year, placing the rate at over 6 per cent per year.

The current rate for a six-month deposit is 5 per cent per year, while a 24-month deposit is already 6 per cent per year, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous month.

The anticipated rise in deposit interest rates aligns with trends in international markets, with bank deposits expected to provide similar yields to other asset classes, they said.

Experts attributed the increase in deposit interest rates to the recovering credit demand in the market.

Recent data from the General Statistics Office indicates a decrease in the amount of deposits at credit institutions compared to the same period last year.

However, credit growth is expected to accelerate in the second half.

After a prolonged period of decreasing savings interest rates, the trend has now reversed, with most lenders raising deposit rates across various terms since the start of May, and experts foresee this upward trend continuing throughout the year.

Despite the expected hike, deposit interest rates are unlikely to reach the levels of the end of 2022 due to the bank run incident at Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB).

The largest private lender by assets has been placed under the central bank's management since then.

In the long term, the government and central bank aim to stabilise or even reduce interest rates to promote economic growth. — VNS