Program seeks to solve business capital needs

Symbiotic relationship

To support customers, many banks have just launched large credit packages with preferential annual lending rates lower by 0.5 to three percent.

Specifically, Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) had launched a VND20 trillion package that offers reductions of up to three percent in credit for corporate and individual customers.

Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) has launched a VND10 trillion package with a preferential annual interest rate of seven percent upward for first-time small and medium-sized borrowers.

Previously, Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) committed to reducing interest rates by 0.5 percent for all customers from the beginning of 2023, except for customers in risky fields such as real estate and securities.

Banks have been actively coordinating with ministries, sectors and local authorities to promote their symbiotic relationship with businesses across the country, in keeping with key banking sector tasks and socioeconomic development of each locality.

Commercial banks have been actively promoting connections with enterprises

Connections with enterprises

According to Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the SBV’s Ho Chi Minh City branch, the banking sector coordinated with enterprises in the city to hold 12 conferences in 2022 on bank-enterprise connections for 938 businesses that reported difficulties in accessing loans. Thirteen banks registered for the preferential credit package of more than VND434.2 trillion. “Through the program, commercial banks in the city disbursed over VND568.34 trillion in 2022, exceeding the registered preferential capital package by 131 percent and up 16.6 percent year-on-year. Interest rates were six percent on short-term loans and 10 percent on long-term loans,” Lenh said.

To maintain this connection program in localities, SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong asked branches to hold direct dialogue with customers in February to ease their difficulties in accessing capital and coordinate with relevant agencies to review and solve the problems. The relevant information must be made public and clarified at local bank-enterprise connection conferences.

Credit institutions must fully participate in the local bank-enterprise connection conferences, register their credit programs with the SBV branches at the beginning of the year, and create favorable conditions for customers to access capital.

“Banks need to publicize credit information on websites about the process, procedures, interest rates, service fees, and guide borrowers to fully understand related information,” Governor Nguyen Thi Hong requested.