It is unlikely that the banking sector will reach its 12 percent credit growth target this year, when to date the figure is only 8.5 percent, according to Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyen Dong Tien.

However, the Deputy Governor said banks have reported sharp credit growth in VND, while lending in foreign currency has dropped.

Additionally, mid and long-term credit also saw rapid increases, meeting the economy and businesses’ demand for long-term investment.

According to the Deputy Governor, the SBV has made certain adjustments in its credit growth policy, to make lending mechanism more flexible while preventing bad debts from rising.

At the National Assembly meeting earlier in November, SBV Governor Nguyen Van Binh said he expects credit growth to reach 11-12 percent in 2013.

Several economists, however, shared the view that it will be hard to meet the target, adding that the most important thing to do now is tackle bad debts and not let new ones develop.-VNA