State Bank of Vietnam on July 4 sent a document to 14 commercial banks asking them to lower interest rate on loans for businesses purchasing summer-autumn rice for stockpiling.
According to the State Bank, financial institutions have reduced lending interest rate in Vietnamese dong on short term loans to nine percent a year in five priority fields including agriculture and rural development since June 28.
The State Bank thus proposed 14 commercial banks cut the annual interest rate to nine percent for businesses stockpiling summer-autumn rice in the Mekong Delta.
The 14 commercial banks include Agribank, VietinBank, Vietcombank, BIDV, MHB, Techcombank, SHB, OceanBank, OCB, EximBank, MB, LienVietPostBank, SeaBank and HDBank.
They should work closely with their branches and provincial authorities to make sure that loans are being used for the right purpose to stockpile rice as per target.
On the same day, the State Bank also instructed five large commercial banks, namely, Agribank, VietinBank, Vietcombank, BIDV and MHB to step up loans to house buyers as per Government directive No 2.
The banks should order their branches and offices to guide borrowers in procedures to avail loans and satisfactorily answer customer questions in case they fail to meet requirements for loans.