On June 19, 2024, in Hanoi, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) organized a virtual Conference of the banking sector on the measures to promote the credit growth. The Conference was co-chaired by SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong and First Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu. Also attending the Conference, there were representatives from the SBV entities, the SBV municipal and provincial branches, Vietnam’s Banking Association, as well as the credit institutions.
Delivering her opening speech, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong shared that, in terms of credit, under the strong leadership of the Prime Minister and the SBV Board of Management, the SBV had made multiple working visits to the provinces and had issued several guiding documents. Since the beginning of this year, the SBV has issued 8 guiding documents, including 1 Directive, 1 Decision, 1 Notification, 5 Official Notes), directing the credit operations in the entire banking sector. The SBV has also organized a lot of conferences at its headquarters as well as in the provinces/cities to resolve issues related to the interest rates and the credit. Moreover, the SBV has conducted consistent solutions and measures aimed at improving the mechanisms and policies, managing the credit operations and the interest rates, accelerating the disbursement of the credit programs. Especially, the SBV had increased the size of the credit package for the forestry and fisheries sectors to VND 30,000 billion, and had proposed to revise the social.
SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong speaks at the Conference
Despite the enormous efforts of the banking sector through various synchronous measures, the credit growth has been still at a low level. Therefore, the SBV Governor has requested the banking sector to focus on the following points: (i) assessing the reasons for the slow credit growth, analyzing the existing difficulties, identifying all obstacles and constraints that have and have not been resolved, and projecting any arising difficulties and challenges for the credit growth in the coming time; (ii) clarifying whether the current credit growth solutions have been implemented in accordance with the Prime Minister's directions, and whether credit has been focused on the economic growth drivers; what are the potential and feasible drivers to be promoted, and identifying clearly the reasons and solutions; preparing at an early stage for long-term credit demands, such as green credit, credit meeting environmental standards and conditions; iii) assessing the potential credit growth in the remaining time of the year based on all analyses and projections of difficulties and challenges; (iv) ensuring the credit growth must go in parallel with implementing the Prime Minister’s directions of controlling the risks and protecting the safety of the banking sector; making clear and specific recommendations to the Government; (v) continuing to strengthen the communication, especially the policy communication to the people.
At the Conference, Ms. Ha Thu Giang, Director General of the SBV Department of Credit for Economic Sectors shared that, in order to facilitate the credit insitutions’ operations, as well as to enhance the people’s access to credit, the SBV had continued to review, revise and improve the legal regulations to ensure alignment with the 2024 Law on Credit Institutions, including supplementing new regulations on simplifying the procedures applied to consumer loans, and new regulations on e-transactions in the banking operations.
The SBV has urgently implemented synchronous solutions, issued guiding documents, and organized conferences to direct the credit institutions to put more efforts into promoting effectively the credit growth; requested the entities under the SBV, the credit institutions, and the SBV municipal/provincial branches to implement fully and seriously the directions of the Government and the Prime Minister, aiming at further promoting the credit growth in 2024.
The SBV has continued to maintain the key interest rates to enable the credit institutions to access capital resources at low costs, thereby supporting the economy. Moreover, the SBV has requested the credit institutions to further cut down their costs, and thus reduce their lending interest rates, and to make their average lending interest rates public so that all people can know.
The Conference participants from the SBV Headquarters
It was further shared that the SBV would continue to pursue the key tasks and solutions during the last 6 months of 2024, focusing on the following:
Operating the monetary policy, the fiscal policy and other macroeconomic policies in a flexible and effective manner, promoting the economic growth in accordance with Resolution No. 01 of the Government.
The SBV would urgently issue guiding documents for the 2024 Law on Credit Institutions to ensure its effective implementation, starting from July 1, 2024; continuing to review, revise and supplement a number of legal documents in order to remove any existing difficulties for the economy.
Continuing to improve and promote the credit programs and policies in accordance with the Government’s and the Prime Minister’s directions, including amending the credit package worth VND 120,000 billion to become more preferential.
Monitoring closely the implementation of Circular No.06/2024/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing Circular No. 02/2023/TT-NHNN on rescheduling the debt payment and maintaining the debt categories to support the banks’ customers.
First Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu delivers his closing speech at the Conference
Delivering his closing speech, First Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu made high evaluation for the comments and contributions of the banks and the SBV municipal/provincial branches.
In the context of difficulties and the negative impacts from the world economy, Deputy Governor Tu acknowledged the efforts of the entire banking system, especially the commercial banks during the first 6 months of 2024.
The SBV Deputy Governor again re-emphasized the 10 solutions to promote the credit growth, which should continue to be implemented until the end of the year, specially as follows:
First, in order to ensure the liquidity for the economy, the banks' liquidity, the SBV must always stands ready to provide liquidity support if and when necessary.
Second, the SBV encourages to enhance the credit growth. Since the beginning of the year, the SBV had expressed its willingness to expand the credit growth targets for the commercial banks if their lending activities are effective, while still ensuring the inflation control and the macroeconomic stability.
Third, lowering the interest rates has been a consistent direction for many years and throughout this year.
Fourth, operating the interest rates and the exchange rate in a harmonious way, in accordance with the market situation, the macroeconomic developments and the monetary policy objectives, continuing to request the credit institutions to reduce their costs and lower their lending interest rates.
Fifth, continuing to review, revise and supplement a number of legal documents to remove any existing difficulties for the economy, and to increase the access to credit resources.
Sixth, implementing strongly the credit programs and policies in accordance with the Government’s and the Prime Minister’s directions.
Seventh, monitoring closely the implementation of Circular No.06/2024/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing Circular No. 02/2023/TT-NHNN on the rescheduling of debt payment and maintaining the debt categories to support the banks’ customers.
Eighth, promoting the communication activities both among banks and their customers through different means and channels.
Ninth, organizing Bank-Enterprise Connection Conferences in a synchronized and innovative manner, not only by the SBV municipal/provincial branches but also by the commercial banks, considering those Conferences to be a direct solution to help remove the difficulties between the two sides, thereby consolidating, sharing and fully understanding information about the banks’ customers.
Tenth, over the past time, the SBV has arranged several hi-level working missions on credit to the provinces in order to coordinate, direct and support the banks in those areas.
The SBV leaders requested the entities under the SBV to urgently issue guiding documents for the implementation of the new Laws and Decrees; continuing to monitor closely the interest rates applied by the commercial banks from their announcements of the average interest rates to the supervision of any banks with high lending interest rates.
For the commercial banks, they were requested to continue to maintain the average interest rates, reduce their costs in order to lower their lending interest rates; continue the administrative reforms and the application of advance technologies; improve the legal basis to enhance the data mining in the coming time, etc.
The SBV Deputy Governor also requested the SBV municipal/provincial branches to strongly implement the solutions in accordance with the directions of the Government, the Prime Minister and the SBV, which had been issued from the beginning of this year.
HY