In the morning of June 19, 2025, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) joined the answering session to a number of questions raised by the National Assembly (NA) Deputies related to the macro-economic policy management, emphasizing the role of the banking sector in the promoting the economic growth, and the 2% interest rate support program.
SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong
From the perspective of a macroeconomic policymaking agency, SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong said that, after 40 years of renovation, Vietnam's economy has achieved many significant achievements. However, there are still several challenges and limitations, and therefore, it is necessary to assess, review and renew the economic growth drivers.
Regarding the investment drivers, according to the SBV Governor, Vietnam’s economic growth relies significantly on capital resources, but the efficiency of capital utilization is not as good as desired, which is reflected in the very high Incremental Capital-Output Ratio (ICOR) of Vietnam. Therefore, it is necessary to work out possible solutions to enhance the efficiency of capital utilization.
“Vietnam has attracted a lot of foreign investment, especially FDI. However, we have not fully leveraged these capital flows, technology transfers, management skills. Therefore, it is necessary to innovate the FDI attraction strategy in the coming period, focusing on technology transfers, enhancing the management skills, and linking more strongly with the domestic economy,” the Governor emphasized.
Regarding consumption and export drivers, the Governor said that Vietnam's economic growth relies heavily on exports, and is therefore easily affected by the global macroeconomic and currency fluctuations. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the driving force from the domestic consumption.
According to the Governor, acting as the lifeblood of the economy, the banking system has been putting efforts into mobilizing idle capital to provide loans to the economy, activating, guiding and promoting the growth drivers like investment, consumption and exports. During the recent years, the banking sector’s credit has grown by about 14-15% per year, a high level as compared to other countries in the region and around the world. By the end of 2024, the credit-to-GDP ratio reached 134%, reflecting the crucial role of credit in the economic development, supporting the production, consumption, and exports.
In order to achieve the economic growth target of 8% or more in 2025, the SBV has set an overall credit growth target of 16%, with possible flexible adjustments if the inflation remains under control.
With its role in providing payment and financial services, the banking system has been developing robust and diversified banking products and services to serve the needs of businesses and people. The banking sector is one of the pioneering sectors in applying the digital transformation, helping businesses and people to save time and improve the operational efficiency.
Over the past years, the SBV has managed to operate the monetary policy in a flexible manner, in line with the practical developments, applying appropriate tools and solutions to help control the inflation at low levels, maintaining the stability of the macro-economy, as well as the money and foreign exchange markets, and ensuring the safety of the banking system.
In the coming time, the SBV will continue to closely monitor the developments to proactively respond to any changes, helping to build a solid foundation for Vietnam’s fast and sustainable growth. However, according to the Governor, in addition to the efforts of the banking sector, it is necessary to maintain the close coordination among all macroeconomic policies.
Regarding the 2% interest rate support program applied to green projects and projects on circular production related to ESG standards, the SBV would coordinate closely with the Ministry of Finance to issue clear and specific guidance for the cases of borrowing from commercial banks, which aims to address the shortcomings in the 2% interest rate support package in the previous economic recovery program.
“In the coming time, the SBV will continue to closely coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and other relevant authorities to implement effectively the policies of the Central Executive Committee of the Party, the Politburo, and the National Assembly," the Governor affirmed.
HY