At the monthly Government press conference in the afternoon of January 03, 2023, in his answer to a correspondent’s question about the SBV’s solutions to increase credit for social housing in 2023, Mr. Dao Minh Tu - First Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) - affirmed that, buying a house is a legitimate need of each person, and the SBV has identified social housing as a field where banks’ lending is encouraged.
SBV First Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu speaks at the press conference.
According to the SBV Deputy Governor, there are currently two sources of investment for social housing development. First, it is investment from the state budget through Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP). Until now, the state budget that has been allocated to Vietnam Bank for Social Policies is estimated at VND 3,163 billion.
Another source from the state budget which has been identified in the Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Program in line with Resolution No. 43 of the National Assembly and Resolution No. 11 of the Government, and has been also tasked to Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, is the mobilization of another VND 15,000 billion through the issuance of guaranteed Government bonds.
With these sources from the state budget, currently, Vietnam Bank for Social Policies has provided loans worth VND 9,994 billion to 27,894 customers to buy social housing, in which VND 3,717 billion lent to 9,527 customers under the Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Program in line with Resolution No. 11.
Second, using sources from the commercial banks to provide loans with a support scheme from the Government. Currently, the relevant Ministries and agencies are considering about the providing the extra to make up for the lower interest rates applied by the commercial banks when providing credit to social housing. Nonetheless, the funding has not been secured yet, and a full scheme has not been developed, but the commercial banks already stand ready for the implementation.
In addition, there is another source from the commercial banks, it is the banks’ lending to the projects of social housing or commercial housing at affordable prices, which can directly meet the real housing needs of the people. SBV First Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu shared that, this has been one of the key policies of the banking sector for many years, and especially in 2023, the SBV has identified this as a segment to encourage, and has directed the commercial banks to focus their credit on it.
LK