Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) had a meeting with commercial banks to review interest rate situations in the first quarter of 2017 and forecast the trend of interest rate for 2017 in Hanoi on April 4.
The meeting was attended by Directors from a number of SBV functional departments and representatives from 21 commercial banks.
According to the assessment of the Monetary Policy Department, in Quarter I of 2017, the macroeconomic balances were basically ensured; money market continued to be stable; liquidity of credit institutions system was still ensured firmly. Monetary targets increased in line with macro-economic developments and SBV’s management measures; by March 30, 2017, the total liquidity rose by 3.52%; credit to the economy increased by 4.03% as comparison with that of early 2017. The common interest rate continued to be stable. It was the fact that some commercial banks slightly increased the mobilizing interest rates for long terms and for a certain number of customers, however, this situation lasted for a short time and then interest rates decreased in line with supply and demand in the market. The group of state-owned commercial banks and large joint-stock commercial banks still maintained the interest rates stable. The common lending interest rate has not been imposed on by any pressure.
Exchanging their ideas on interest rate management of the SBV, representatives of commercial banks agreed with the SBV assessment and affirmed that there was no pressure related to interest rate.
Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong made her assessment that there were not many fluctuations in the market and said it was necessary to conduct additional practical assessment for setting management orientations in the coming time.
The SBV Deputy Governor emphasized the SBV has been persistently managing in line with the objectives of curbing inflation, stabilizing macro-economy, conducting measures of supporting economic growth. Regarding to the interest rate, she affirmed, right from the beginning of 2017, the SBV set out the objective of stabilizing the common interest rate and striving to decrease the common lending interest rate if can be.
Moreover, according to the Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong, the SBV has continued to pursue the management objective of stabilizing interest rate and has been ready to respond to any extraordinary movement. Regarding to money supply management to regulate liquidity, the SBV would strictly monitor to promptly intervene when need be through open market operations, refinancing…. She said the stabilization of interest rate also depended on the process and the roadmap of NPLs resolution and restructuring. The SBV has been reviewing the NPL resolution and restructuring and submitted to the Prime Minister the formulation of Law on supporting NPL resolution and restructuring in order to tackle difficulties and obstacles of NPLs resolution, thereby creating favorable conditions for stabilizing interest rate.
For credit management, in 2017, the SBV will strictly control to ensure growth rate in line with set orientation, focusing on credit growth quality.
Closing the meeting, the SBV Deputy Governor highly appreciated the consensus of credit institutions in stabilizing interest rate and required credit institutions to continue maintaining capital balance appropriately, improving index of utilizing short-term capital for medium and long term loans, changing credit structure, stabilizing common mobilizing and lending interest rate, and strictly implementing SBV regulations.
Le Hang