Total outstanding loans in the country’s banking sector grew 4.91 percent from last December, according to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

The central bank said the figure was much higher than the rate 1.2 percent recorded during the same period last year, through it was far from the Government’s full-year growth target of 12 percent.

The lending growth figure stood at 4.5 percent by the end of last month and 1.98 percent by the end of May.

Meanwhile, total dong deposits surged by 9.48 percent from the end of last year.

The country’s broadest measure of total money supply, or M2, rose 8.25 percent during the first half of the year, representing a year-on-year rise of 9.2 percent.

Local credit institutions were earlier requested to take measures to expand lending in order to achieve credit growth of 12 percent set at the beginning of the year, a move that aims or spur economic growth.

Accordingly, the SBV required banks to consider adjusting credit growth limits for credit institutions and allocate funds to priorities areas while ensuring credit quality.

Earlier, SBV Governor Nguyen Van Binh said that Vietnam’s banking sector should strive to boost credit growth by 12-15 percent by the end of the year to help the economy growth by 5-5.5 percent.-VNA