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Banks cut costs to lower lending rates for priority sectors

State Bank of Vietnam Governor Phạm Đức Ấn chaired a meeting with credit institutions, urging them to cut interest rates to support businesses and help achieve double-digit economic growth targets. Under Official Dispatch No. 9608/NHNN-CSTT, banks must lower listed deposit rates by at least 0.5 percentage points a year for terms of six months or longer, and cut lending rates by 1.5-2 percentage points for production, business and priority sectors. As of the end of last week, mobilised funds rose 11.22% and credit grew 11.44%, while the gap between đồng loans and mobilised funds narrowed from nearly VND2 quadrillion (US$75.75 billion) to below VND1.5 quadrillion. The SBV strictly prohibits lowering credit standards and may cut credit growth quotas for the rest of 2026 and set lower quotas for 2027 for banks violating interest rate rules. Banks are also urged to tighten control over high-risk lending and to classify bad debts accurately.

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