Credit growth hits one percent in January

The nation’s banking system reported credit growth of one percent in January, a good sign for achieving the target of 25 percent growth this year while still considered reasonable in terms of seasonal production cycles and demand for capital.
The nation’s banking system reported credit growth of one percent in January, a good sign for achieving the target of 25 percent growth this year while still considered reasonable in terms of seasonal production cycles and demand for capital.

“Before Lunar New Year, companies often focus on summarising business results and planning for the new year,” said State Bank deputy governor Nguyen Dong Tien on February 2. “They will gear up production after the holiday festivities.”

The increase in credit growth for January was therefore not low in comparison with previous years, Tien said. The rate of growth was 0.65 percent in January 2009 and 0.9 percent in January 2008, while credit growth actually slowed by one percent in January 2007.

In the last week of this past month, average interbank rates for loans in Vietnamese dong increased by 0.6-2 percentage points over the previous week to 11.12-12.52 percent.

Interest rates for deposits in Vietnamese dong remained stable at 10-10.49 percent at private banks and 8-9 percent at State-owned banks. Most private banks were offering promotions and gifts to attract available capital.

In an attempt to make more capital available for small and medium-sized enterprises, Tien said that the central bank had applied a series of measures via Open Market Operations and refinancing to credit institutions. The State Bank had refinanced 10 trillion VND (540.54 million USD) for Agribank to make capital available for lending in the farming sector./.

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