Central bank mulls raising gold position limit for lenders

The State Bank of Vietnam to lift gold position limit for authorised banks from 2% to 5% of charter capital.

SJC gold bullions. The State Bank of Vietnam plans to raise the end-of-day gold position limit for credit institutions authorised to produce, export and import gold from 2% to 5%. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The State Bank of Vietnam plans to raise the end-of-day gold position limit for credit institutions authorised to produce, export and import gold from 2% to 5% of their charter capital, a move expected to give banks more flexibility in supplying gold to the market.

The proposal was raised in a draft circular to replace Circular No 38/2012 on gold positions of credit institutions.

Accordingly, banks permitted to produce, import and export gold bullions and raw gold will be allowed to hold end-of-day gold positions of up to 5% of their charter capital.

The increase in gold positions is aimed at helping narrow the gap between domestic and global gold prices.

Currently, eight commercial banks are eligible for gold production, import and export under established regulations, including Vietcombank, VietinBank, BIDV, Agribank, Techcombank, MB Bank, VPBank and ACB.

If all eight banks are granted licences to produce, import and export gold, their combined 5% of capital threshold is estimated to amount to 2.56 billion USD, equivalent to 20 tonnes of gold, based on an exchange rate of 26,135 VND per US dollar and a world gold price of 3,982 USD per ounce as of September 30, 2025, according to the central bank.

For credit institutions permitted only to trade gold bars without production, import and export, the gold position limit would remain at 2% of their charter capital.

Credit institutions would not be allowed to hold negative gold positions.

The central bank said any decision to allow banks to produce, import or export gold would depend on specific quotas granted by the SBV.

The SBV added that even with a higher limit of 5%, the scale of gold positions would remain moderate compared with banks’ financial capacity and would not pose risks to the financial system./.

VNA