13 banks increase savings interest rates, forecast to continue to remain high at the end of the year
Deposit interest rates continued to increase in July 2026 when 13/16 banks monitored by MBS Research simultaneously adjusted upwards, commonly 0.1-0.8 percentage points. Some banks have raised interest rates above 9%/year, while the average deposit interest rate for a 12-month term reached 8.63%/year, an increase of 282 basis points compared to the beginning of the year.
The rate hike is taking place in the context of credit increasing faster than capital mobilization. By August 3, outstanding loans of the entire system increased by 8.8% compared to the end of 2025, while capital mobilization only increased by 6.2%.
This gap puts pressure on banks to raise interest rates to attract capital, especially when credit demand is forecast to continue to be high at the end of the year.
According to VCBS Research, deposit interest rates are likely to continue to be maintained at a high level in the last months of 2026 when credit growth is expected to be over 15%. See more...
15 suspicious signs of money laundering with cryptocurrencies
The National Assembly passed the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam, the Law on Anti-Money Laundering and the Law on Credit Institutions.
The Law supplements the responsibility for the State Bank in establishing, monitoring, and forecasting the balance of international payments and the state of international investment; and at the same time legalizes the principle of combating "foreign currencyization", according to which transactions, payments, listings, quotations, valuations... in Vietnam are not allowed to be carried out in foreign currency, except as permitted.
Notably, the Law on Anti-Money Laundering adds cryptocurrency services to the group of business activities subject to reporting, and also stipulates 15 suspicious signs in this field.
Signs include breaking down transactions, continuous top-off - withdrawal - conversion, transferring assets to high-risk areas, using anonymous tools, trading mixing services or cryptocurrency wallets related to illegal activities. The Ministry of Finance is expanding its management responsibility for anti-money laundering for cryptocurrency and some other areas.
Regarding the Law on Credit Institutions, the Law adds the activity of "agent managing collateral of corporate bonds" to the group of other business activities of commercial banks and credit institutions.
The Law also regulates state management responsibilities between ministries and sectors in money laundering prevention and control, including the Government Inspectorate and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. See more...
Durian exports forecast to reach 4-4.5 billion USD in 2026
Vitamia fined 200 million VND for advertising "world number 1" water purifier
The National Competition Commission said it has fined Vitamia Natural Health Solutions Co., Ltd. 200 million VND for providing confusing information to customers about products, in order to attract customers from other businesses.
Specifically, Vitamia uses information such as "world No. 1 in electrolyte water purifiers", "No. 1 in Japan" or "most purchased by Japanese people" to promote Kangen water purifiers. Functional agencies determined that this information was inaccurate and could cause confusion for customers about the goods.
In addition to being fined, Vitamia was forced to publicly correct the confusing information on the company's website. During the investigation, it was noted that the company actively coordinated to provide documents and took measures to prevent and reduce the consequences of the violation. See more...
