With a key role in developing agriculture, farmers and rural areas, the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development - North Thanh Hoa Branch (Agribank North Thanh Hoa) has always played a key role in investing in economic development, especially in the agricultural and rural areas with more than 80% of the credit market share for this sector. In addition to investing in lending to households and individuals, Agribank North Thanh Hoa has implemented many solutions to support and invest in credit for businesses to develop production and business effectively, creating jobs for many workers.

Many households in Van Du town (Thach Thanh) received loans to effectively develop the economy.

In the early days of spring 2025, together with Agribank Thach Thanh credit officers, we visited the economic model of Mr. Nguyen Van Hai's family in Van Du town. Looking at his family's spacious premises now, we can clearly see the effectiveness brought by the comprehensive economic model of business, car repair, and fruit tree planting in the direction of commodity production thanks to Agribank loans according to Decree 55/2015/ND-CP of the Government. It is known that Mr. Hai's family is being lent 4 billion VND by the bank to invest in buying modern machinery to trade in spare parts, repair cars and plant more than 2 hectares of various fruit trees. The family's annual income is nearly 10 billion VND, creating jobs with stable income for more than 10 workers.

Following the direction of the Government and the State Bank, Agribank Bac Thanh Hoa has focused on prioritizing credit capital for socio-economic development, agricultural, rural and farmer development; implementing programs to support interest rate reduction, debt extension, and debt repayment restructuring for customers; and implementing social security programs in the locality. To increase capital investment, support people and businesses to develop production and business, the bank has proactively and flexibly provided credit capital to serve production and business activities. In particular, priority is given to 5 key areas including export, agriculture, high technology, small and medium enterprises, and supporting industries. In particular, since the beginning of 2024, Agribank Bac Thanh Hoa has implemented many solutions to increase access to capital and promote credit growth, including proactively adjusting lending interest rates, implementing credit programs of more than VND 150,000 billion with lending interest rates 1-3% lower than normal interest rates to encourage and support customers to use capital. In addition, Agribank Bac Thanh Hoa is also implementing preferential credit programs for corporate customers engaged in import-export activities; small and medium-sized enterprise customers; individual customers producing and trading OCOP products with preferential interest rates up to 2% lower per year than the normal lending interest rate floor...

In addition, to improve the quality of customer service, Agribank Bac Thanh Hoa has drastically implemented many solutions to effectively carry out digital transformation, improve technology infrastructure, increase human resources to support customers in performing biometrics, develop retirement accounts, develop Plus accounts... Thanks to that, Agribank Bac Thanh Hoa ranked second in the whole system in implementing biometrics for customers, ranked second in the number of Plus accounts with over 50,000 accounts and ranked first in the system in terms of proportion; organized the development of 6,000 retirement accounts, 4,000 accounts for beneficiaries of subsidies, social security... With many flexible and creative operating solutions, in 2024, Agribank Bac Thanh Hoa successfully completed its business tasks, won third prize in the whole Agribank system and the award for the branch with the highest outstanding loan growth rate. By the end of 2024, the total capital of Agribank Bac Thanh Hoa will reach VND 17,513 billion, reaching 140.6% of the assigned plan. Total outstanding loans will reach VND 20,231 billion, reaching 163.6% of the assigned plan. Service revenue will increase by 3.5% over the same period.

Mr. Nguyen Thai Trieu, Director of Agribank Bac Thanh Hoa, said: "Through credit programs, Agribank Bac Thanh Hoa has been making important contributions to the cause of hunger eradication, poverty reduction, new rural development, and promoting the restructuring of the agricultural sector. At the same time, propagating and disseminating the guidelines, policies, laws of the Party and State, bank credit policies... contribute to improving people's knowledge, creating absolute trust in the leadership of the Party and State for the cause of agricultural, farmer and rural development. Agribank Bac Thanh Hoa identifies key tasks as continuing to modernize technology, digitally transform banking operations, develop business management scenarios, and management plans for credit quality. At the same time, continue to diversify products and services, expand the network of operations, promote capital mobilization as well as safe and effective credit growth. Strive for the target of total capital increasing by at least 1,700 billion VND, total outstanding balance Debt increases by at least 2,220 billion VND; banking service revenue increases by at least 13.3%".

Article and photos: Khanh Phuong