As the demand for capital increases, Vietnamese banks are intensifying their focus on bond issuance, with interest rates climbing sharply. According to recent statistics, rates have surged from 8% at the end of June to 9% in July, reaching an impressive 10% at the beginning of August.

Data from the Hanoi Stock Exchange reveals that Sacombank (stock code: STB) issued three bond lots in the last week of July, raising a total of 3.65 trillion VND. These bonds, which have a six-year maturity, offer a fixed interest rate of up to 10% per annum. This notable rate elevates the average yield of bank bonds to a new high, surpassing the average interest rate of 8.5% for bank bonds in the first half of the year.

These newly issued bonds are part of Sacombank's plan to sell a total of 20 trillion VND in private bonds. In a similar vein, BIDV (stock code: BID) has successfully issued two bond lots, increasing its total issuance to 6.675 trillion VND since the beginning of the year. However, details regarding bondholders, the purpose of issuance, and collateral have not been disclosed. Notably, these bonds have a fixed interest rate of 8.2% per annum.

Meanwhile, Vietcombank has offered a bond lot with a fixed interest rate of 7.9%, which is three percentage points higher than its last issuance at the end of the previous year. Commercial banks are willing to accept higher interest rates; for example, VietABank has issued a bond worth 100 billion VND with an interest rate of 9% per annum, significantly exceeding the deposit rates at the same time. The Military Commercial Bank (MB) recently completed the issuance of ten bond lots, raising nearly 6 trillion VND, with interest rates ranging from 8.3% to 8.4% per annum.

At the beginning of the month, VPBank also raised 1 trillion VND through bonds with a fixed interest rate of 8.6% for a three-year term. HDBank plans to sell a total of 100 million bonds, equivalent to 10 trillion VND, through two issuance phases this year. Additionally, Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) has conducted three rounds to raise 3 trillion VND, with the highest interest rate reaching 8.6%.

According to the Vietnam Bond Market Association, banks have offered more than 61 trillion VND in bonds in the first five months of the year. Experts attribute the resurgence of bank bonds to the disparity between capital raising and credit growth. In a recently published report, the FiinRatings analysis group forecasts that the scale and interest rates of bank bonds show no signs of cooling down. This is further evidenced by the large bond issuance plans of several banks for the second half of the year. For instance, BIDV plans to raise up to 41 trillion VND, VPBank 30 trillion VND, Sacombank 20 trillion VND, and Agribank 15 trillion VND.

Experts from FiinRatings believe that the capital demand of banks in the second half of the year is likely to remain high, while the gap between capital raising and credit is not expected to narrow soon. Additionally, there is a need to supplement Tier 2 capital to comply with regulatory safety ratios.