On August 13, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung held a meeting with the State Bank of Vietnam and credit institutions. He said the government had mainly used fiscal measures, including tax and fee reductions and deferrals, in its recent macroeconomic management, while also cutting administrative procedures, processing times and compliance costs for the economy, people and businesses.
The government had not put pressure on the central bank or the banking system over credit growth or interest rates, the PM said.
On lending rates, the State Bank of Vietnam has instructed credit institutions to keep rates in line with market developments, balancing the need to attract deposits with reasonable borrowing costs. Banks have been encouraged to share the benefits with customers by lowering lending rates.
KienlongBank, for example, has launched a programme directing credit towards small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and business and production activities. Lending rates under the programme can be reduced by up to 2.5 percentage points a year, depending on the customer group and loan term.
Sacombank has also cut lending rates, saying it had narrowed its profit margin to 0.79 per cent to support businesses. The bank is also directing funds towards priority sectors, household businesses and foreign-invested enterprises.
It said it would follow the directions of the prime minister and the State Bank of Vietnam by launching a preferential credit package for importers and exporters, building on a portfolio of nearly VND 100 trillion (USD 3.85 billion) for this customer segment.
Banking transaction (Illustrative photo: Tien Tuan).
Earlier, Vietnam's four largest state-owned commercial banks including Agribank, BIDV, Vietcombank and VietinBank, announced preferential credit packages for priority sectors and SMEs. Their lending rates are at least 1 percentage point a year below the average lending rate for loans of the same term.
Agribank has launched a VND 70 trillion package, while BIDV, Vietcombank and VietinBank have each offered preferential credit packages worth VND 50 trillion.
On August 12, BVBank introduced a VND 2.5 trillion credit package with lending rates starting at 9.7 per cent a year after the reduction.
The programme focuses on SMEs and household businesses, while prioritising sectors identified by the State Bank of Vietnam, including agriculture and rural development, supporting industries, high-tech businesses, exports, processing and manufacturing, green projects and emerging sectors such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence and semiconductor manufacturing.
NCB has also cut lending rates by 0.5 percentage points a year across all loan packages for individual and business customers.
SMEs are eligible for a uniform 0.5 percentage-point reduction across all loan terms. NCB said it would prioritise preferential financing for green projects, the digital economy, construction companies and building-material suppliers, particularly businesses involved in major national infrastructure projects.
Experts said interest-rate reductions of 0.5 to 2.5 percentage points could significantly reduce financing costs for businesses, particularly SMEs.
With input costs and cash-flow management remaining major challenges, they said a more favourable interest-rate environment could not only help businesses meet immediate funding needs but also strengthen their financial capacity and support production and business plans in the final months of the year.