PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the conference (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Credit loans must bealways available for production and business enterprises, especially thoseoperating in such areas as agriculture, export and high-tech, Prime MinisterNguyen Xuan Phuc said on December 26.
Speaking at a year-end conference of the State Bankof Vietnam (SBV) in Hanoi, the Government leader said apart from providingloans, the banking sector should help businesses with effective, sustainableoperation plans while keeping risks under strict control.
The major task set for the sector in the time aheadis to further restructure credit institutions and handle bad debts, herequested.
Vietnam now counts 49 commercial banks, 51 branchesof foreign banks and 1,182 people’s credit funds, with credit balance totalling9 quadrillion VND (389 billion USD), he said, adding that such huge amountneeds strict supervision and inspection.
Transactions at Vietcombank (Photo: VNA) The government leader also reminded the sector of theneed for personnel training to meet the requirements of the new situation.
He lauded the central bank’s move to cut policyrates three times so far this year, by 1.5-2 percent per annum, the sharpestreduction recorded in the region.
The SBV needs to continue proactively and flexiblyoperating monetary policy tools, combining them with fiscal policies and othersin order to curb inflation, stabilise the macro economy and spur socio-economicdevelopment, PM Phuc suggested.
Illustrative image (Source: VNA) It was reported at the meeting that as of December18, the total means of payment increased by 12.83 percent from the end of 2019and 14.62 percent over the same period last year. The liquidity of the creditinstitution system is smooth.
As of November, annual lending interest rates in Vietnamdecreased by an average of 1 percent compared to the end of 2019 and themaximum interest rate for short-term loans in Vietnam dong for some prioritysectors and industries was at 4.5 percent per year.
Credit institutions have adjusted debt payment termsfor about 270,000 clients affected by COVID-19, with accumulative debts of nearly355 trillion VND, and exempted and cut interest rates for nearly 590,000 other,with loans amounting to over 1 quadrillion VND./.
VNA
