State Bank requires promoting credit growth, consumer lending

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam has just issued Document No. 8444/NHNN-VP requesting units under the State Bank and credit institutions and foreign bank branches to seriously implement the tasks assigned by the banking sector in Directive No. 29/CT-TTg dated August 27, 2024 on stimulating consumption, supporting production, business and developing the domestic market.

Customers transact at Vietcombank Head Office. Photo: Tran Viet/VNA

Notably, in this document, the Governor of the State Bank requested credit institutions to continue implementing solutions for safe, effective and substantial credit growth, directing credit to production and business sectors, priority sectors and growth drivers; proactively removing and handling difficulties and obstacles to promote credit growth in general and the effective and substantial lending and consumption sectors.

At the same time, research and develop credit products and banking services specifically for the consumer sector, increase lending for life and consumption. At the same time, promote lending through electronic and online forms; strengthen review and apply digital transformation to simplify the process and procedures for borrowing capital and consumer loans, creating favorable conditions for people and businesses to access loans to promote consumption of domestically produced goods. In addition, strengthen the implementation of solutions to apply data from the national database on population in lending activities to serve people's life and consumption.

The Governor also requested credit institutions to maintain stable deposit interest rates, step up the implementation of solutions to reduce operating costs, simplify lending procedures, enhance the application of information technology and digital transformation to consider further reducing lending interest rates.

Actively and proactively implement preferential credit programs and policies according to the policies of the Government, the Prime Minister, and the State Bank. In particular, promote disbursement of the Credit Program for loans to support social housing, workers' housing, projects to renovate and rebuild old apartments according to Resolution 33/NQ-CP, contributing to the implementation of the Project to invest in building at least 1 million social housing units for low-income people and industrial park workers in the period of 2021-2030; credit program for the forestry and fishery sectors. At the same time, actively implement the policy of restructuring debt repayment terms and maintaining debt groups for customers facing difficulties according to Circular 02/2023/ΤΤ-ΝΗΝΝ.

Along with that, proactively review and evaluate the quality of credit facilities and the production and business situation, and the debt repayment capacity of customers to consider applying appropriate solutions to overcome difficulties for customers, in accordance with legal regulations, ensuring that the State's policies reach people and businesses promptly and to the right subjects.

Continue to implement tasks and solutions according to the Strategy for Information Technology Development of the Banking Industry to 2025, with a vision to 2030, the Digital Transformation Plan of the Banking Industry; continue to promote the implementation of solutions to apply the national database on population, clean customer data...

Regarding units under the State Bank, the Governor requested to continue to closely monitor, analyze, evaluate and forecast the domestic and foreign macroeconomic, monetary and inflation situation to proactively advise and propose appropriate management solutions to ensure stability of the monetary market, contribute to controlling inflation, promoting growth and ensuring the entire system.

Conducting monetary policy proactively, flexibly, promptly, effectively, harmoniously, and closely with fiscal policy and other macroeconomic policies. In particular, conducting open market operations flexibly, closely following monetary policy objectives; refinancing credit institutions to support liquidity, lending to programs approved by the Government and the Prime Minister, supporting the restructuring of credit institutions and handling bad debts.

At the same time, interest rates will be managed in line with market developments, macroeconomics, inflation and monetary policy targets; credit institutions will be encouraged to continue to cut costs, simplify lending procedures, increase the application of technology and digital transformation in lending processes, and continue to strive to reduce lending interest rates to support the economy.

Manage exchange rates flexibly, in accordance with market developments and monetary policy objectives; synchronously coordinate monetary policy measures and tools to stabilize the foreign exchange market.

Closely monitor the credit growth situation of each credit institution and the entire system, promptly report, advise, and propose reasonable coordination measures to promote safe and effective credit growth, ensuring capital flows into production, business, priority sectors, and economic growth drivers according to the Government's policies.

In addition, direct credit institutions to implement solutions for safe, effective, substantial and legal credit growth; research and develop credit products and banking services specifically for the consumer sector, increase lending for life and consumption; promote lending through electronic and online forms; simplify loan and consumer loan procedures, create favorable conditions for people and businesses to access loans to promote consumption of domestically produced goods.

At the same time, continue to closely monitor the situation and promote the implementation of the Credit Loan Program to support social housing, workers' housing, and projects to renovate and rebuild old apartments according to Resolution No. 33/NQ-CP, contributing to the implementation of the Project to invest in building at least 1 million social housing units for low-income people and industrial park workers in the period 2021-2030; Credit Program for the forestry and fishery sector with an estimated scale of about 50,000 - 60,000 billion VND.

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