Nearly 90% of banks expected profitability in 2022, which reflects the strong recovery of the economy.   

A customer at SHB's branch in Hanoi. File photo

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) released the data from its latest survey on the sentiment of banks and credit institutions for the fourth quarter of 2022, conducted from August 25 to September 10.

“Fierce competition within the sector is seen as a key factor that may impact the business performance of banks in 2022,” noted the survey.

Meanwhile, rising demand for banking services, business performance, and the financial situation of customers would be essential for those in the sector to improve their profitability in the coming time.

The survey also revealed that 70.4-75.9% of banks expected improved business performance in the fourth quarter and the whole year.

During this survey, 31.6% of respondents said they increased their interest rates slightly while keeping service rates unchanged in the third quarter.

Up to 61% of banks and credit institutions expected the average interest rate to go up by 0.37 percentage points in the fourth quarter, and only 7-9% suggested a slight decrease in the rate.

Overall, 8-10% anticipated a decrease, while 66-60% of banks suggested an increase in interest rates of between 0.56 and 0.57 percentage points in 2022, implying an increase in both lending rates and bank service fees in the fourth quarter and 2022.

However, they expect the deposit rate to increase by an average of 4.3% in the fourth quarter and 10.2% in 2022, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points compared to the previous survey.

Banks also shared that credit demand in the economy has been on a robust rise since the fourth quarter of 2021 and would remain high in the remainder of the year, in which demand from the business side would be higher than that of individual customers.