HANOI: After declining in the first two months of this year, credit of the banking industry in March increased by 0.26% compared to the end of 2023 to about 13.6 quadrillion dong, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) reports.
According to the SBV, the credit of the banking system in the first two months of this year decreased by 0.72% compared to the end of last year.
Low credit growth in the first months of a year is common. The average credit growth in the first two months in the 2013 to 2023 period was 0.56%. Credit declines in the first two months were also seen, in 2014, 2018 and 2024.
However, experts say the credit decrease in the first two months of 2024 was more serious because this year’s conditions are different from the previous years, as the SBV this year assigned the entire credit growth quota of 15% for commercial banks right in the first month instead of only allocating a part of the quota at the beginning of the year as previously.
Therefore, the SBV in February had to send an official dispatch to credit institutions stating that despite the application of supporting policies to boost credit from the beginning of the year, credit growth this year was still quite low compared to recent years.To boost credit growth, the SBV has requested credit institutions to firmly implement effective credit growth solutions since early February.
Accordingly, credit institutions must review to simplify lending procedures with an aim to increase people’s ability to access capital. — Viet Nam News/ANN