Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has issued Dispatch No. 122 to the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, requesting a focus on credit management measures for 2024.
According to the dispatch, the complex global situation, along with natural disasters such as Storm No. 3, has caused significant challenges for local production and business activities. Many people and businesses have suffered heavy losses, and accessing credit has become more difficult, resulting in an increase in bad debts for banks.
A social housing project in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: NLD)
To enhance credit management and strengthen the state management of monetary and banking activities, the Prime Minister has requested the State Bank to implement several key tasks.
Specifically, the State Bank is instructed to direct credit institutions to make further efforts to reduce lending interest rates by cutting costs, simplifying administrative procedures, and promoting the application of information technology and digital transformation.
“Effectively implement and ensure transparency in preferential credit packages suitable for the characteristics of each credit institution in important areas that contribute to the economy’s growth drivers, especially social housing and worker housing credit packages, and credit packages for forestry and aquatic products,” the dispatch states.
The Prime Minister emphasized the need for credit institutions to uphold their social responsibility and business ethics by supporting and sharing difficulties with affected people and businesses.
Credit institutions should focus on lending to production and business activities, priority areas, and economic growth drivers, including digital transformation, green transformation, climate change response, circular and sharing economies, science, technology, and innovation.
At the same time, they must tightly control credit in risky areas to ensure safe and effective lending practices. Policies to facilitate access to credit for businesses and individuals should be continued, along with promoting lending for production, business, and consumer needs during the end of the year and the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday in 2025.
The State Bank is also tasked with instructing credit institutions to proactively review and identify borrowers affected by Storm No. 3 to apply support measures, such as debt restructuring and interest rate reductions or exemptions.
Additionally, the State Bank should provide new loans to restore production and business activities after the storm, in accordance with current regulations, and handle debt settlement for affected borrowers.
The Prime Minister requested the State Bank to coordinate with relevant agencies to proactively, flexibly, and effectively manage monetary policy, in harmony with a reasonably expanded fiscal policy and other macro policies.
This includes focusing on implementing tasks and solutions related to interest rate and exchange rate management, credit growth, open market operations, money supply, and reducing lending interest rates to provide capital for the economy at a reasonable cost.
“Rhythmically and harmoniously inject and withdraw money, without causing liquidity pressure on the banking system, to support people and businesses in quickly overcoming the consequences of Storm No. 3, recovering and developing production and business activities, promoting economic growth, ensuring macro-economic stability, controlling inflation, and maintaining the safety of banking activities and the system of credit institutions,” the dispatch states.
The State Bank is expected to implement timely and effective credit solutions that align with macroeconomic and inflationary trends and meet the capital needs of the economy. These solutions should aim to remove difficulties for people and businesses, support production and business development, and create jobs and livelihoods for the people, with a spirit of harmonious interests and shared risks.
Additionally, the State Bank must ensure that credit is provided to the right addresses at the right time, avoiding bottlenecks and delays, and preventing a mechanism of favoritism and negativity in the credit allocation process.
The Prime Minister emphasized the target of achieving a 15% credit growth rate in 2024.
The State Bank is instructed to continue implementing effective measures to reduce lending interest rates across the system of credit institutions, supporting people and businesses in their production and business development, generating revenue and profits, and repaying bank loans.
Furthermore, the State Bank is assigned to strengthen inspection, examination, control, and strict supervision of credit granting and interest rate publication by credit institutions. Timely and strict handling of violations is crucial, along with implementing effective solutions to address bad debts in the system.
Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc is assigned to directly direct the State Bank and relevant agencies in performing the tasks assigned in this dispatch.
