Vietnamese banks’ mobilised capital as of April 17 increased by 2.69 per cent compared to the end of 2018. — VNA/VNS Photo

The credit growth of Vietnamese banks as of April 17 this year had expanded by 3.23 per cent against the end of 2018, the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) reported.

The rise was lower than that of the same period last year, when the credit rose by 5 per cent.

Lending rates in the period averaged 6 to 9 per cent per year for short-term loans and 9 to 11 per cent per year for medium- and long-term loans.

During the period, banks’ mobilised capital increased by 2.69 per cent compared to the end of 2018.

In the report on results of monetary policy and banking operations management in the first months of 2019 sent recently to the National Assembly’s Economic Committee, the SBV also said that the exchange rate and foreign currency market were stable and market liquidity was good. From the beginning of the year to April 17, SBV bought US$8.35 billion from credit institutions to build up the nation’s foreign reserves.

The gold market in the first months of the year also continued the relatively stable trend seen in 2018.

The fluctuation of the domestic gold price has no longer had adverse effects on the local exchange rate, the foreign exchange market and the macro economy. The attractiveness of gold bars declined, lowering sales and purchase volume in the market compared to the same period last year, the SBV noted.

Regarding bad debt handling, according to the SBV, the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio at banks – exclusive of loans sold to the Viet Nam Asset Management Company – continued to maintain a low level of 2.09 per cent of the total outstanding loans by the end of February 2019, below the threshold of 3 per cent targeted by the SBV.

From 2012 to the end of February 2019, the credit institution system handled VND896.14 trillion of bad debt, according to the SBV. — VNS