Governor: Real estate credit is high but still safe

Securities lending accounts for only 1.5%, real estate credit increasing sharply is understandable

At the regular online Government meeting in July with provinces and centrally run cities held on August 7, State Bank Governor Nguyen Thi Hong said that credit in the entire system in the first 7 months of the year increased by about 10% compared to the end of 2024 - a fairly high increase compared to 6% in the same period last year.

Governor Nguyen Thi Hong. Photo: VGP

Concerned that credit is flowing strongly into real estate and securities, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong admitted that credit growth for these two sectors is higher than the average, but that is consistent with the direction of removing difficulties for the real estate market. When the project is cleared of legal obstacles, the need for capital for implementation is inevitable.

In the securities sector, although there is a growth rate, the proportion only accounts for 1.5% of total outstanding debt, not causing systemic risk.

The Governor affirmed that he is always closely monitoring safety indicators. The ratio of short-term capital used for medium and long-term loans is still below 30%. At the same time, he continuously directs credit institutions to balance capital according to maturity, ensuring system safety.

According to statistics from the Investment Electronic Newspaper - Baodautu.vn from the financial reports of the second quarter of 2025 of commercial banks, in the first half of 2025, real estate is the sector that contributes greatly to the credit growth of many banks.

For example, at Techcombank , in the first 6 months of this year, real estate business loans (including credit and bonds) accounted for 59% of total outstanding credit. Including individual customers, the proportion of real estate loans at Techcombank reached more than 64% of the total outstanding loan of the whole bank. Techcombank's consolidated real estate business credit growth (credit alone) reached 21.5% compared to the end of 2024 (nearly double the bank's loan growth of 11.6%).

At many other commercial banks, real estate business loans in the first half of the year also recorded a very strong increase. Specifically, at HDBank, outstanding real estate business loans reached VND 83,125 billion, up 22% compared to the beginning of the year and accounting for 16.4%. AtSHB , outstanding real estate loans reached VND 163,754 billion, up nearly 28.4% compared to the beginning of the year, accounting for 27.5%, instead of 24.5% at the end of 2024. At MB, real estate business loans reached VND 85,834 billion, up nearly 34% compared to the beginning of the year and accounting for 9.72% (up from 8.26% at the end of last year).

Outstanding real estate business loans as of the end of June 2025 at TPBank increased by 32%, at PGBank increased by 30%, at VietBank increased by 19%, at MSB increased by 15%...

Two key solutions to reduce dependence on bank credit

According to experts, pumping money into the economy will greatly support growth but also pose risks of inflation. The Governor said that average inflation is being controlled at 3.6% - still within the target range set by the National Assembly from 4.5% to 5%.

However, the Governor noted that inflationary pressures are on the rise. Factors such as adjustments to electricity prices, healthcare service prices, and housing rental prices are creating pressure on input costs and pushing core inflation up continuously in recent months. Core inflation - which reflects the long-term impact of monetary policy - is an important indicator that the regulatory agency cannot be subjective about.

"Inflation appears very quickly, but it is very difficult to control and reduce it. This is the reason why it is necessary to operate policies proactively, closely following developments and cautiously," the head of the banking industry emphasized.

In the first 7 months of this year, total means of payment increased by 7.5% compared to the end of 2024, nearly double the increase in the same period last year. According to the Governor's explanation, this high increase is largely due to the State Bank implementing projects to restructure the banking system, especially special loans to serve the transfer of banks subject to compulsory purchase.

In addition, the State Bank's use of open market instruments to inject short-term money is applied to support liquidity for the credit institution system, helping to expand credit while maintaining stable interest rates. This is especially important in the context of the Government's request to stabilize interest rates to support production and business, even though credit is increasing.

In the long term, the Governor emphasized the need for synchronous solutions to support more effective monetary policy. Of these, two proposals are considered key.

Firstly, it is necessary to strongly develop the capital market to meet the demand for medium and long-term capital, thereby reducing pressure on short-term capital sources of the banking system. This is the direction agreed by the Government in the latest dispatch.

Second, it is necessary to expand the credit guarantee program for small and medium-sized enterprises. If these enterprises are supported to borrow capital through the guarantee mechanism, it will create a strong production motivation from all sectors of the economy.

In addition, for sectors such as real estate and infrastructure - which require large medium- and long-term capital - capital should be mobilized through the issuance of corporate bonds, local bonds, or international loans.

"Only by mobilizing capital through the right channels and with the right nature can we achieve both high growth and sustainable stability," said Governor Nguyen Thi Hong.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/thong-doc-tin-dung-bat-dong-san-tang-cao-nhung-van-an-toan-d352890.html