Lending interest rates dropped in July

Hanoi (VNA) – The State Bank of Vietnam revised down its prime interest rates in July and those of short-term loans for priority fields.

As of June 20, interest rates of one-month, six-month, 12-month and 12-36 month deposits stood at 4.7 percent, 5.68 percent, 6.8 percent, 7.07 percent, respectively, said the National Financial Supervisory Commission.

Lending rates for five priority fields have dropped to 6.5-6 percent per year.

As of late July, credit growth hit 9.3 percent from late 2016 and 8.8 percent from the same period last year. Mid and long-term credit fell to nearly 53.9 percent of the total compared to 55.1 percent from late 2016.

Short-term credit accounted for 46.1 percent of the total, higher than 44.9 percent recorded in late 2016.

According to the National Financial Supervisory Commission, interest rates are likely to fall later this year due to domestic and foreign factors. Specifically, the US dollar has dropped 7 percent from early this year while the US’s Federal Reserve is not expected to raise interest rates this year.-VNA