State-owned bank BIDV recently announced to set aside 300 trillion Vietnamese dong (12.6 billion U.S. dollars) for loans with a preferential annual interest of 0.5 percent to 2 percent lower than normal lending rates, the newspaper reported.
Agribank has just adjusted lending interest rates lower for the sixth time. For loans aimed at production and business activities, the short-term lending interest rate is only from 5 percent annually, and the rate for medium- and long-term loans starts from 8 percent per year, the newspaper said.
Surveys in banks such as VietinBank, Vietcombank, TPBank, Sacombank and MSB show preferential loan packages currently have interest rates from 0.5 to 2 percent lower per year depending on customer groups.
In addition, many banks have reduced operating costs to support firms through policies on exemption and reduction of money transfer service fees or reduction of import and export payment fees, the newspaper reported.
By the end of June this year, credit growth was only 4.03 percent, against 9.4 percent of the same period last year, the lowest credit growth in the past 10 years.
Interest rates are in a downward trend, but the risks of the economy are increasing, which means that banks will be more cautious when lending and it is not easy for firms to borrow, the newspaper said, citing local banking expert Nguyen Tri Hieu.
For firms, the demand for loans is only moderate due to difficulties in the market and slow sales of goods. Firms will boldly borrow capital only when the economy recovers, he said.
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