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Credit growth bounces back in February

VGP – The State Bank of Viet Nam said February’s credit grew by 0.26% against January but in the first two months the growth rate fell by 0.28%.

March 20, 2013 9:06 AM GMT+7

The decrease was attributed to the shrinkage of foreign currency credit, which is in line with the Government’s effort to prevent dollarized economy.

In early February, liquidity of credit organizations fell sharply but it has improved quickly after the central bank used open market tool to support their seasonal capital demand to satisfy businesses’ capital need during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Thanks to high liquidity, inter-banking interest rates are slightly lower against the beginning of the year while deposits are bouncing back with a 2% increase in the first two months. This is sign of restored confidence in credit organizations.

The lending rates for agriculture, rural areas, exports, small and medium-sized enterprises are kept at 9-12%/year and for other fields at 11-15%.

The foreign currency market has also been stable, said the State Bank of Viet Nam.

The above signals shows that macro-economy and monetary market are on the right track, the bank noted.

This year, the Government targets a 12% credit growth and focuses on dealing with non-performing loans. Earlier this year, the Government issued Resolution 02 on solutions to remove difficulties against production and business, support the market and deal with non-performing loans./.

By Huong Giang