On the afternoon of April 9, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) held a meeting in Hanoi to deploy banking tasks, chaired by SBV Governor Pham Duc An.
During the session, Pham Chi Quang, Director of the Monetary Policy Department, reported that the SBV managed monetary policy during the first quarter with a proactive and flexible approach to maintain macroeconomic stability and control inflation.
The central bank utilized a synchronized toolkit, including foreign currency interventions, to stabilize the market and absorb external shocks.
Regarding credit management, the SBV has set a growth target of 15 percent for the year, urging credit institutions to prioritize manufacturing and business sectors while strictly controlling lending in high-risk areas like real estate to prevent bad debts. Officials noted that the international landscape remains unpredictable, as escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have driven up oil prices and exerted global inflationary pressure.
Domestically, the high demand for capital to meet economic growth targets continues to pose challenges for monetary management.
The meeting also addressed recent competition among commercial banks for deposits, which has pushed interest rates upward. To counter this trend, the SBV confirmed it will maintain current policy rates to provide credit institutions with access to low-cost capital.
In a significant show of consensus, commercial banks committed to reducing both deposit and lending rates following the meeting to support businesses and the general public in line with government directives. Moving forward, the SBV will closely monitor interest rate trends and lending rate disclosures while enhancing inspections to strictly penalize any violations in credit activities.
