HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Growing demand is expected to significantly boost commercial banks' credit for January, based on information from banks in the country's two largest cities Ha Noi and HCM City.

The HCM City Statistics Office reported that the city's lending in January has risen by 11 per cent, against the same period last year, and is up 1.9 per cent from last month to VND1,057 trillion (US$49.39 billion).

During this month, lending for the Vietnamese dong contributed to a growth of 9.9 per cent against the same period last year, while lending in US dollars increased by 16.9 per cent.

Medium and long-term outstanding loans accounted for more than a half of the city's total loans, up 2.3 per cent from the same period last year.

Deposits at commercial banks in HCM City in January also grew by 10.5 per cent against the same period last year and are up 0.3 per cent month-on-month to VND1,293.7 trillion ($60.45 billion).

Deposits in US dollars accounted for 15.6 per cent of the city's total deposits, up 7.6 per cent against the same period last year, while deposits for dong jumped 11 per cent.

The Ha Noi Statistics Office also reported that the city's deposits in January grew by 1.1 per cent month-on-month to VND1,204 trillion ($56.26 billion), while the city's lending rose by 0.7 per cent to VND1,017 trillion ($47.52 billion). — VNS