Foreign currency interest rate maintains high level

February 22, 2011 | 15:43

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Whether State Bank depreciates the dong by 9.3 per cent against dollar has not reduced to interest rate of foreign currency.

At present, banks apply high foreign currency deposit rates, with 6.2 per cent at small-scale banks and 5.5-5.8 per cent at large-scale banks.

Nguyen Trung Thanh, director of corporate customers of VietBank, said VietBank had adjusted foreign currency interest rates to 5.5 per cent per year applied to short-term deposits. Whether VietBank applied different interest rate for vary term deposits depending on the demand of raising capital of the bank.

Actually, banks maintain an attractive foreign currency interest rate in order to attract foreign currency capital to meet the demand of firms.

After the devaluation of dong, foreign currency demand of exporters and importers are still high due to the VND dong interest rate on the rise. Besides, firms expected that exchange rate would be stable for at most next six months.

Do Minh Toan, deputy general director of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), said that after the increased exchange rate, firms borrowing foreign currency would find more safety because they valued goods based on exchange rate at free market before devaluation.

Thanh said whether increasing of dollar deposit rates and promotion of loaning the dong with high interest rate was not positive solution because of many exchange and interest rate risks.

According to banks, in the present circumstance firms borrowing foreign currency should balance of foreign currency debt and reserve for fluctuation of exchange and interest rates to avoid risks.

vir.com.vn

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