The State
Bank of Vietnam has ordered branches nationwide to inspect lending and deposit
activities at commercial banks to make sure they abide by interest rate
regulations.
According
to the central bank, some lenders are offering bonus interest rates for deposits
and charging extra fees on loans.
Violators
have to be reported to the central bank by March 9, said the State Bank in a
statement.
In late
February, the central bank widened the scope of bank loans that could be offered
at negotiable interest rates to include areas such as production, business,
services and investment for development. Previously, only rates on consumer
loans could be negotiated.
The move
has resulted in higher lending rates, up to 19 percent a year. As lending rates
increase, bankers say many clients insist on receiving deposit rates higher than
the current rate cap of 10.5 percent.
In order to
attract enough funds, commercial banks have to offer various perks to
depositors, which can account as much as 30 percent of the total deposit rate.
Perks include gifts, cash or bonus rates.