The lending growth figure stood at 4.5 per cent by the end of last month and 2.98 per cent by the end of May.—Photo vietstock.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub)— Total outstanding loans in the country's banking sector grew 4.91 per cent from last December, according to the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV).

The central bank said the figure was much higher than the rate 1.2 per cent recorded during the same period last year, though it was far from the Government's full-year growth target of 12 per cent.

The lending growth figure stood at 4.5 per cent by the end of last month and 2.98 per cent by the end of May.

Meanwhile, total dong deposits surged by 9.48 per cent from the end of last year.

The country's broadest measure of total money supply, or M2, rose 8.25 per cent during the first half of the year, representing a year-on-year rise of 9.2 per cent.

The SBV has earlier asked local credit institutions to take measures to expand lending in order to achieve credit growth of 12 per cent set at the beginning of the year, a move that aims to spur economic growth.

Accordingly, the SBV required banks to consider adjusting credit growth limits for credit institutions and allocate funds to prioritised areas while ensuring credit quality.

Earlier, SBV Governor Nguyen Van Binh said that Viet Nam's banking sector should strive to boost credit growth by 12-15 per cent by the end of the year to help the economy grow by 5-5.5 per cent.

Several commercial banks have been seeking the SBV's approval to raise the limits for lending expansion this year.

Nam A Commercial JS Bank (NamABank) received approval to increase its credit growth limit from 9 to 30 per cent, the highest level in the banking sector, according to CEO Tran Ngo Phuc Vu.

NamABank posted credit growth of 12 per cent in the first quarter.

SeABank has targetted credit growth of 16 per cent this year as it plans to seek approval to raise its current limit of 12 per cent in the third quarter. — VNS