At the Conference on Promoting Bank Credit, Contributing to Economic Growth in Region 3 (Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Hoa Binh) held on the afternoon of March 26, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Pham Thanh Ha said that as of March 12, credit increased by 1.24% compared to the end of 2024.

According to Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha, to facilitate credit institutions, at the end of 2024, the State Bank of Vietnam announced and immediately assigned a credit growth target of about 16% in 2025 so that credit institutions can proactively meet the capital needs of people, businesses, and the economy.

At the same time, in the first 2 months of 2025, the State Bank issued 10 documents directing credit institutions to resolutely implement solutions to increase credit growth correctly and on target; thoroughly instruct credit institutions to seriously implement the direction of the Government and the State Bank to stabilize deposit interest rates, contribute to stabilizing the monetary market, strive to reduce lending interest rates,...

The fact that the industry's credit grew by 1.24% compared to the end of 2024 shows the efforts of the entire banking industry in drastically implementing solutions to support credit growth.

Particularly in Region 3, according to Mr. Trinh Cong Van - Acting Director of the State Bank of Vietnam Region 3 - by the end of February 2025, outstanding credit balance of credit institutions in the region is estimated at VND 134,571 billion, down 1.61% compared to the end of 2024.

Also according to Mr. Van, in the first months of 2025, short-term lending interest rates for priority sectors in the area will not exceed 4%/year at commercial bank branches and not exceed 5%/year at people's credit funds.

Interest rates for loans for normal production and business (not in priority sectors) are commonly from 6-9.5%/year, down 0.2-0.4%/year compared to December 31, 2023.

By February 28, 2025, the total mobilized capital reached VND 113,032 billion, an increase of 2.06% compared to the end of 2024, accounting for 15.9% of the total mobilized capital in the Northern Midlands and Mountains region.

Outstanding loans reached VND 134,571 billion, down 1.61% compared to the end of 2024; bad debt ratio was 0.87%; accounting for 17.9% of total outstanding loans in the Northern Midlands and Mountains region.

According to the leader of the State Bank of Region 3, the credit growth of the region has been decreasing, unstable and lower than the national average. This is because the provincial economies generally grow slowly and are unstable, not to mention that the provinces in the region are highly dependent on natural conditions; some investment lending sectors have reached their potential (hydropower, agriculture)...

According to Mr. Van, due to the limited savings of people and businesses, the current mobilized capital in the area only meets 81% of the outstanding debt of credit institutions in the area; if calculated based on the outstanding debt of the banking sector lending in the area (including credit institutions in and outside the province), it only meets 52% of the total outstanding debt.

Therefore, local credit institutions are passive in terms of loan capital, having to depend on loan capital and regulation from the head office to lend to local people and businesses.

At the conference, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha reminded credit institutions in the area to achieve credit growth targets but ensure efficiency, compliance with regulations, ensure system safety, limit bad debt occurrence; regularly assess bad debt, ensure objectivity and honesty; strictly comply with regulations related to debt collection and collection.

The Deputy Governor requested credit institutions to apply digital transformation to the credit granting process, minimize unnecessary expenses to create resources to reduce lending interest rates; maintain stable and reasonable mobilization interest rates.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tang-truong-tin-dung-den-12-3-dat-1-24-2384655.html