A digital banking kiosk of Agribank. (Photo: VNA)Interest rates have dropped to the lowest level in the past 20 years.Commercial banks say that rates cannot be lower, but the central bank urgesefforts to reduce costs to create room for supporting the economy, he said.
The central bank will manage rates in the direction of notincreasing operating costs, and based on global economic development and majormacro balances, he added.
Last year, the SBV cut policy intererst rates four times by 0.5-2 percentagepoints, resulting in reductions of around 2 percentage points in deposit andlending rates compared to the end of 2022.
As of the end of 2023, lending rates for prioritised sectors werereduced to below 4% per year and the average deposit rate was 3.5% per year.The average lending rate for new loans was 6.7%.
The credit growth rate was 13.5% in 2023, lower than the target of 14-15% butstill positive in the context of economic difficulty, Tu said, adding themonetary market was kept stable while inflation was under control in 2023.
|The Vietnamese dong depreciated by 2%, a very low level comparedto the depreciation of other currencies, by 12-17% of G7 member countries, forexample.
Forecasting that the economy would continue struggling this year,the central bank will consider extending Circular 02 on debt rescheduling andretention of debt category to assist business in 2024, the SBV leader said.
The central bank also sets a credit growth target of 15%for the domestic banking system this year, he said, estimating that with suchgrowth rate, around 2 quadrillion VND (81.8 billion USD) will be pumped intothe economy in 2024./.
VNA
