Non-bank credit institutions currently show low operational efficiency, according to the central bank. -- File Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) ― The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) will focus on restructuring non-bank credit institutions such as financial companies and financial leasing firms this year.

"Currently these institutions show low operational efficiency and have little impact on the public, as they fail to mobilise significant deposits from the people," central bank chief inspector Nguyen Huu Nghia told the Phap luat TPHCM (HCM City Law) newspaper.

"Many enterprises are having equities in these lenders and we will urge them to withdraw their capital this year," he added.

Nghia said SBV would continue to inspect the quality of loans by clarifying banks' bad debts, in accordance with a central bank circular on dealing with lending risks which will be implemented this June.

"From the inspection results, we will see what the lending quality really is one year after the bad debt settlement process began, to take more specific solutions," he said.

Tran Du Lich, the deputy head of the HCM City's National Assembly delegation, said the market confidence in the banking system had significantly improved as the industry had entered "quite a sustainable orbit".

He told Thoi bao Ngan hang (The Banking Times) that this was the result of SBV management moves, which were based less on administrative measures and more on market operations last year.

In 2013, about 90 per cent of the domestic credit institutions bought State bonds, enabling the government to balance national spending and investments.

The greatest challenge facing the banking system in 2014-15 is to assure credit growth while keeping long-term interest rates low to support the restructuring of enterprises, he said.

He noted that the slow progress in dealing with bad debts in the property sector would create significant pressures for the banking sector, as liquidity remained low in the real estate market. ― VNS