On the afternoon of February 27, Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) - Ho Chi Minh City Branch, said that 13 HCMC-based commercial banks registered for the preferential credit package in the Bank - Business Connection program in HCMC in 2022, with a scale of VND434.28 trillion.
However, through this program, commercial banks disbursed VND568.34 trillion, equal to 131 percent of the preferential credit package registered since the beginning of the year, an increase of 16.6 percent compared to 2021. The program has brought practical benefits to businesses as it enabled them to access credit capital with low lending interest rates at about 6 percent per annum for short-term VND loans and about 10 percent per annum for medium and long-term loans.
According to Mr. Lenh, the disbursed loans to support businesses and business households in 2022 increased compared to the credit package committed by commercial banks thanks to the efforts, responsibility, and sharing of credit institutions in the area, along with the initiative and creativity in coordinating and organizing the implementation in accordance with the characteristics of each locality.
Specifically, the SBV-HCMC Branch coordinated with the Department of Industry and Trade and the People's Committees of districts and Thu Duc City to organize the Bank-Business Connection Program with the themes of ‘supporting for agricultural and rural development’ and ‘supporting businesses in the field of tourism and businesses operating in industrial parks and export processing zones’, which has brought about high efficiency and spillover effect and is highly appreciated by the business community.
For example, the direct signing at conferences in the districts and Thu Duc city in 2022 achieved roughly VND11.42 trillion, including low-interest capital support and debt restructuring for local businesses to help them overcome difficulties due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr. Lenh also said that within the framework of this program, in the past year, the city's banking industry coordinated with the Department of Tourism of HCMC, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of HCMC, districts, and Thu Duc City to organize 12 conferences to connect banks and enterprises, solve, and handle directly for 938 businesses that faced difficulties and needed capital, but had difficulty accessing credit capital.
For the proposals of enterprises, if the credit institutions could solve and lend, they would provide immediate support. If they could not lend, they would promptly reply to enterprises and clearly state the reasons. This is also a responsible way to solve specific difficulties that businesses reflect.
