Having followed closely the Resolutions of the National Assembly, the instructions of the Government and the Prime Minister, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has managed the monetary policy in an active, flexible and effective manner in collaboration with the fiscal policy and other macro-economic policies in order to control the inflation, contributing to maintaining the macro-economic stability, supporting the economic growth. At a Directive issued right from the beginning of 2023, the SBV had set the credit growth target for 2023 at about 14-15%, with appropriate adjustments in alignment with the practical situations, enabling the credit institutions to provide capital for the economy.
As of July, 2023, the SBV had allocated the credit limits to the entire system of credit institutions with the total credit growth rate of 14.5%. However, for the past eleven months, the domestic economic growth has still faced difficulties; the credit absorbability and the credit demand are still weak. As a result, as of November 22, 2023, the credit growth of the entire banking sector had only reached 8.21%, lower than the credit growth target set at the beginning of the year; the credit growth rates have been different at different credit institutions; some credit institutions had reported high credit growth rates, while several others had reported low credit growth rates, and some had even recorded negative growth rates. Therefore, in order to promptly manage the monetary policy in a flexible manner, meeting the requirements of further accelerating the credit growth in support of the capital demand for the economic recovery in accordance with the Government’s and the Prime Minister’s instructions, the SBV has proactively regulated the credit growth targets of the entire banking sector, from the credit institutions that have not used up their credit growth targets to the credit institutions with the need of extending their credit growth. At the same time, the SBV will continue with the prudent management to ensure that the credit growth in 2023 does not exceed the established target, while still ensuring the room for the credit growth in order to meet the capital demand of the economy and the safety of the entire banking sector.
On November 29, 2023, the SBV had sent an official document to the credit institutions announcing the increased credit growth rates in a public and transparent manner, based on specific principles and criteria. Accordingly, the credit institutions whose current credit outstanding has reached 80% or over of the previously announced credit growth targets shall be allowed to proactively increase their credit growth limits on the basis of the ratings in 2022, with priority given to those credit institutions that have focused their credit on the Government’s priority fields and/or have reduced their lending interest rates to low levels over the past months. The extension of the credit growth limits reflects the SBV’s proactiveness, and the credit institutions do not need to submit a formal request for the extension.
Furthermore, the SBV has also requested the credit institutions to extend their credit in a safe and healthy manner, ensuring the credit growth in line with their capacity in risk management, capital mobilization, and balancing their capital resources before extending their credit limits; continuing to maintain stably the common mobilization interest rates and reduce the lending interest rates; directing credit into production and business operations, the priority areas and sectors, and the drivers of the economic growth in accordance with the Government’s policy; meeting promptly the capital demands of the people and businesses; enhancing the reviews and cutting down administrative procedures, simplifying and shortening the lending processes and procedures, ensuring full compliance with the applicable laws in order to enable customers to access bank loans, thereby supporting businesses and the people to recover their production and business operations.
From now till the end of 2023, the SBV would continue to closely monitor the market developments to promptly conduct appropriate measures, proactively increase the limits, standing ready to support the liquidity, and enabling the credit institutions to provide capital for the economy.
Le Hang