State Bank of Vietnam Introduces Six-Month Foreign Exchange Swap

The State Bank of Vietnam has introduced a 182-day foreign exchange swap with an initial size of $2 billion and a quoted annual cost of 2.25%. Nguyễn Linh Phương, deputy head of its monetary policy department, said a round of operations on November 9, 2026, provided nearly VND 50 trillion to the banking system, helping credit institutions secure longer-term dong funding.

The swaps conducted in November 2026 will mature in May 2027, covering banks’ year-end settlement period in 2026 and the peak in funding demand before Tet in February 2027. Vũ Minh Trường, deputy CEO of VPBank, said the longer swap term, compared with the few-week terms used previously, would help stabilize banks’ liquidity expectations.

The swap also gives banks a way to convert foreign currency borrowed abroad into dong. Trần Chí Thanh, VIB’s deputy CEO and head of treasury and foreign exchange, said banks using overseas financing must pay both interest on foreign currency loans and currency swap costs. The State Bank of Vietnam’s swap quote helps reduce those costs and ease competition among banks for dong deposits.

Nguyễn Linh Phương said the State Bank of Vietnam would continue to coordinate the scale and timing of open market operations, refinancing and foreign exchange swaps in response to changes in the macroeconomy and money markets. Reducing banks’ funding costs and, in turn, supporting lower lending rates is a stated policy goal; the outcome will depend on subsequent market developments.

Source: VietVance