Vietnam’s credit growth as of April 16 reached 3.34% against late 2020 and a surge of over 15% compared to the same period of last year.

The figures were revealed during a press conference on the performance of the banking sector in the first quarter held by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) today [April 22].

Overview of the conference.

The growth rate by the end of March was 2.93% compared to late 2020, equivalent to VND9,460 trillion (US$411 billion). “In just  two weeks, the credit growth had expanded by an addition of 0.41 percentage points,” said a SBV’s representative.

As of April 5, credit institutions and banks have restructured debt payment for 262,000 customers with a total outstanding loan of VND357 trillion (US$15.5 billion). Meanwhile, over 660,000 customers with existing loans of VND1,270 trillion (US$55.14 billion) were subject to waiver, freezing and reduction of interest rates.

From January 23 to date, banks have provided new loans worth over VND3,160 trillion (US$137.3 billion) for around 456,000 customers with preferential lending rates lower than the level in the pre-Covid-19 pandemic .

Data from the central bank showed by mid-April, the growth rate of M2, which measures money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 2.9% against the end of 2020 and 15.66% year-on-year.

According to SBV’s representative, the bank would continue to maintain its current policy rates to create rooms for credit institutions to lower interest rates for customers, while foreign exchange policies are kept in line with the actual macro-economic performance and the objective of monetary policy.

In the coming time, the SBV is expected to closely monitor the market situation to ensure inflation rate around 4% in 2021 and aid economic recovery.

A key task for the SBV is to tighten credit into risky fields, including real estate, stock market and BOT/BT transportation projects, along with providing continuing support for enterprises and people severely affected by the pandemic.