Growth came chiefly from credit expansion in prioritised sectors of processing, manufacturing and exports, said SBV Governor Le Minh Hung at a government teleconference with leaders of 63 cities and provinces nationwide last week.
“We see loans in these areas have increased quite well,” noted Hung, adding that the credit has been disbursed to production and business rather than other risky sectors like real estate and securities, which are subject to credit growth limits, during the period.
According to Hung, credit demands have been met while deposit and lending interest rates have been kept stable. Short-term lending rates continue to sit within 6-9 per cent a year while medium- to long-term rates stand at 9-11 per cent a year.
The central bank, as Hung noted, has been able to manage the interest rates in line with the overall macroeconomic developments and the monetary markets. The four state-owned banks, namely Vietcombank, VietinBank, BIDV and Agribank, in this case, have been closely directed and monitored to lower the interest rates for the prioritised sectors.
“The reduced rates are not only applied to new loans but also to the outstanding loans of the prioritised industries, helping businesses to cut costs and also stabilise the lending rates of the entire banking system,” said Hung.
The SBV set a 14 per cent credit growth target for 2019, with focus of new loans to be on prioritised sectors including manufacturing, agriculture and small and medium enterprises.
