Tin mới
Vietnam money: rates up after central bank lifts reserves (05/06)
06/08/2010 - 103 Lượt xem
Four state-run banks raised rates on overnight dong loans to between 4 percent and 4.5 percent, from a range of 3.5-4.0 percent seen in the second half of May, bankers said.
Rates on six-month loans were unchanged at 7.5-8.0 percent.
The higher rates followed the central bank's move to raise obligatory reserves on dong and foreign currency deposits.
The decision, which came into effect last Friday, doubled to 10 percent the reserve requirement on dong deposits with terms of up to 12 months.
It also doubled the reserve on dong deposits of between 12 and 24 months to 4 percent and raised the reserve ratio for foreign currency deposits with terms of less than 12 months to 10 percent from 8 percent, from 5 percent earlier.
Vietnam has more than 40 commercial banks, but five state-run banks are the biggest players and control jointly more than 70 percent of lending.
Rates edged up despite assurances from central bank governor Le Duc Thuy on Friday that despite higher reserves borrowing costs should remain stable because commercial banks continued to have ample funds.
The central bank has sought to slow loan growth, concerned that it could translate into higher inflation.
The World Bank has said total loans rose 27 percent in 12 months to the end of March.
In another move to cool lending, the central bank signed a directive last week limiting the amounts of money banks can make available for financing of securities trading to 3 percent of their total lending.
Source: Reuters
