Wednesday saw three more major banks announce cuts on their deposit interest rates, with Agribank shocking the market by offering a record low rate.

Agribank, fully known as the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, slashed the interest rate for savings of a one-month term to only 5 percent a year, 2.5 percentage points lower than the 7.5 percent cap set by the State Bank of Vietnam in late March.

The rate for two-month deposits was also lowered to 7 percent a year.

For savings of a term between three and nine months, the interest rate was set at 7.5 percent a year.

Also on Wednesday, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) also reduced the interest rate for the one-month deposit to 6 percent a year, and 6.5 percent a year for the two-month term.

Meanwhile, Vietinbank cut the interest rates for all deposits of a term under 12 months by 0.5 percentage point to 7 percent a year, starting today, May 9.

The three banks are the first to follow Vietcombank in what insiders say is a new wave of reducing deposit interest rates at a time when most banks have surplus mobilized capital but are unable to find borrowers.

Vietcombank, Vietnam’s fourth-largest lender by assets, lowered its deposit interest rate to 6 percent a year as of May 6, a move analysts say signals that a lower interest rate ceiling will be released by the central bank in the near future.

Vietcombank said its deposit mobilization activity remains stable following the lowered interest rate.

“The number of new deposits dropped only slightly,” a bank chief official said.