At an online credit conference on the morning of February 20, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Dao Minh Tu, stated that the State Bank of Vietnam has assigned credit targets for 2024 to credit institutions, but more targets could still be assigned. The State Bank of Vietnam does not have a policy to tighten or expand credit excessively.
In response to the statistics showing a decrease in credit growth in the early months of the year, Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu raised the question: “Is the decrease in credit in the early months of the year due to a trend, a rule, or other factors?”
Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Dao Minh Tu.
According to the leadership of the State Bank of Vietnam, in the current context, credit still faces many difficulties due to the challenges faced by businesses and the limited increase in investment demand. During the Lunar New Year, purchasing power was not high, and the development of tourism has not met expectations… There are still many obstacles in the international situation. Coping with these difficulties is the responsibility of not only banks, but also other sectors.
“Banks only supplement capital, they do not guarantee 100% capital for businesses, but we still consider credit as an important source of capital,” said Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu.
Regarding interest rates, the leadership of the State Bank of Vietnam also stated: “Interest rates are always a concern. If they are too low, it may not be good, because interest rates must be appropriate to the general economic indicators, especially the exchange rate. However, banks also need to review whether the interest rates of previous loans have been reduced and require banks to reduce lending rates so as not to have a large discrepancy in input costs.
Regarding credit orientation this year, according to Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu, credit growth of 15% may increase or decrease. There is no intention to change the operation interest rates. The viewpoint of the State Bank of Vietnam is to maintain stability this year to create conditions for the people and businesses.
“In particular, this year, the State Bank of Vietnam will strengthen the supervision of capital flows into key and priority sectors; supervise the capital flow supporting business recovery, rather than throwing money into dead businesses,” Mr. Tu added.
The leadership of the State Bank of Vietnam also emphasized that credit institutions should vigorously implement credit programs and policies in accordance with the directions of the Government and the Prime Minister. These programs include a credit program of VND 120,000 billion for the development of social housing, worker housing, renovation and reconstruction of old apartment buildings, a program to provide loans for the production, processing, and consumption of high-quality rice products and low-emission products in the Mekong Delta. Collaborate with ministries and branches to promptly resolve difficulties in the implementation process…
Regarding Circular 02 on debt rescheduling for businesses, Mr. Tu stated that it is necessary to consider extending the rescheduling period, but the question of whether to extend it for another 6 months or 1 year needs to be carefully considered. “If not done objectively, the difficulties of businesses will be transferred to banks because the debts continue to be rescheduled and postponed,” Mr. Tu added.
Results of certain credit programs and policies:
A credit program of VND 15,000 billion for the forestry and fishery sectors, disbursed 100% of the program’s target to more than 6,000 customers.
A program of VND 120,000 billion for social housing, worker housing, renovation and reconstruction projects, commercial banks have disbursed VND 531 billion for 6 projects and disbursed VND 4.5 billion for home buyers.
A credit program of VND 20,000 billion for workers under the cooperation agreement between the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor and two financial companies HDSaison and FECredit, has disbursed VND 10,056 billion for workers.
A policy to restructure the repayment period and retain the original group of debts under Circular 02/2023/TT-NHNN, by December 31, 2023, nearly 188 thousand customers have had their repayment period restructured and the original group of debts retained, with a total value of the original debt and interest being restructured totaling over VND 183.5 thousand billion.
