Sacombank staffs are giving advice to customers. The bank has been permitted to increase this year's credit growth target to 20 per cent. — Photo sgtt.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) ― Sacombank has received State Bank approval to increase its credit growth this year to 20 per cent, according to the commercial bank's general director, Phan Huy Khang.

Sacombank asked for permission to adjust the lending quota after its lending grew 11 per cent in the first half of 2013, a rate near the target it had previously set for the whole year - 12 per cent.

The result followed commercial bank efforts in recent months to lower lending interest rates and ease conditions for firms to access loans, Khang said.

Sacombank vice chairman Nguyen Gia Dinh said in June that small and dispersed lending accounted for more than half the bank's total credit.

Reasonable security and a significant margin between deposit and lending rates in this kind of lending had helped the bank cover costs and balance risks in large loans, he said.

This year, the bank has launched 15 preferential loan packages worth a total more than US$912 million to support businesses, according to cafef.vn. ― VNS