On the afternoon of April 9, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) held a meeting on the implementation of banking operations with representatives from 46 commercial banks. Mr. Pham Duc An – Member of the Party Central Committee and SBV Governor chaired the meeting. Also in attendance were SBV Deputy Governors and leaders of several departments, agencies, and affiliated units of the SBV.
Reporting at the meeting, Mr. Pham Chi Quang – Director General of the SBV’s Monetary Policy Department, stated that in the first three months of the year, the SBV had conducted monetary policy in a proactive and flexible manner to contribute to macroeconomic stability, inflation control, and economic growth. Specifically, open market operations were managed flexibly and proactively in line with market developments and monetary policy objectives, with daily offers to purchase valuable papers on a term basis in appropriate volumes and with diverse maturities to support liquidity and stabilize the money market. In addition, the exchange rate and foreign exchange market were managed in accordance with market conditions to absorb shocks; monetary policy tools were deployed in a coordinated manner, including foreign currency sales for intervention, to stabilize the foreign exchange market, maintain macroeconomic stability, and control inflation.
Mr. Pham Duc An – Member of the Party Central Committee and SBV Governor chaired the meeting
In addition, in credit management, the SBV has closely followed the directions of the Government and the Prime Minister by assigning a credit growth target oriented at 15% for credit institutions to implement. Credit institutions have been required to strictly control credit growth in potentially risky sectors, particularly real estate, while directing credit flows toward production and business activities, priority sectors, and growth drivers, in line with their risk management capacity, thereby limiting the rise of non-performing loans and ensuring operational safety. As of the end of March, total credit in the system increased by approximately 2.65%, reaching VND 19.08 quadrillion.
In addition, the SBV has maintained its policy interest rates unchanged to enable credit institutions to access low-cost funding from the central bank, thereby supporting the economy.
However, in recent times, the international environment has become increasingly complex and unpredictable. Escalating geopolitical and military tensions in the Middle East have driven up oil prices, putting pressure on inflation in many countries, while strong domestic demand for capital to achieve economic growth targets has posed significant challenges to the conduct of monetary policy and banking operations. In terms of capital mobilization and lending, some commercial banks have been competing in deposit mobilization, pushing up both deposit and lending interest rates. In response to this situation, the SBV convened a meeting with commercial banks.
Overview of the meeting
At the meeting, commercial banks reached a high level of consensus in implementing the directives of the Government, the Prime Minister, and the SBV to make efforts to reduce market interest rates in order to support businesses and individuals. Accordingly, commercial banks committed to jointly lowering both deposit and lending interest rates following the meeting.
In his concluding remarks, SBV Governor Mr. Pham Duc An emphasized that in the coming period, the SBV will continue to closely monitor developments in deposit and lending interest rates, as well as the disclosure of lending rates on banks’ official websites. The SBV will implement appropriate monetary policy measures and stand ready to provide liquidity support to commercial banks. At the same time, it will strengthen inspection, supervision, and oversight of banks’ compliance with the directives of the Government, the Prime Minister, and the SBV regarding deposit and lending interest rates, and will strictly handle violations in capital mobilization and credit extension activities of commercial banks.
According to the Banking Times
