While the HCMC Department of Construction is making a list of budget and small-sized housing projects to be offered to beneficiaries of the VND30-trillion subsidy package next month, it is commercial banks that decide who can access these soft loans. A banker in the group of five commercial banks selected to undertake the loans on Tuesday told the Daily that lenders have the right to give loans to... 

Vietnam’s central bank said it imported gold to make up for a reduction in reserves from sales to local commercial banks. The purchases were equivalent to the amount sold at the auctions, the State Bank of Vietnam said in a statement on its website today, without giving details. The bank sold 367,000 taels in 13 auctions held from March 28 through May 3, it said. A tael is about 1.2 ounces. The... 

Banks are continuing to sit on a pile cash with few firms ready to talk business. The State Bank yesterday, March 21, 2013 revealed that by the end of February 2013, mobilised capital increased by 2 per cent compared to the end of 2012, double the growth of 2012’s first two months, with VND mobilisation growth higher than foreign currencies. However, credit growth continued to be negative in 2013’s... 

The State Bank might consider dividing banking system credit groups this year, but the growth cap might be unnecessary given soft credit growth. A State Bank source said the central bank this year might continue to assign credit growth to each bank. In 2012, banking system had four credit growth groups with growth limits of 17, 10, 8 and 0 per cent. This year there might be more groups and foreign... 

After successfully raising liquidity, and despite low interest rates, many Vietnamese banks have been finding it difficult to find new customers for loans. Many Vietnamese banks have been finding it difficult to find new customers for loans According to the State Bank of Vietnam’s HCM City branch, the percentage of outstanding loans held by banks in the city increased by only 0.22pct; meanwhile,... 

Commercial banks have been making fat profits from ATM services, but they have decided to collect fees from inner-network transactions as well. Banks have finally obtained the thing they want – the permission from the State Bank to collect fees on very transaction on auto telling machines (ATMs). A circular has been issued by the central bank stipulates that from March 1, 2013, banks would be... 

While a lot of institutional investors have got stuck with their investments in the banking sector, state owned conglomerates, which are undergoing the restructuring process, still want to “kick against the pricks.” After getting downgraded from an economic group to a general corporation put under the control of the Ministry of Construction, HUD, an urban area and housing development, has expressed... 

Commercial banks had to stop mobilizing capital in gold and lending in gold on November 25, as per a decision by the State Bank of Vietnam. However, contrary to all predictions, the gold price has soared. Though banks do not receive gold deposits anymore, they still provide the safekeeping service. Eximbank, for example, charges the fee of 0.01 percent per annum for the service, provided that people... 

Inter-bank interest rates for Vietnam dong have hovered around 1.5% per annum this week, marking the four-month low. According to Reuters and commercial banks, this rate is the second lowest after the record overnight rate of 0.5% per year offered on the market on May 30, which was the lowest since 2006. Inter-bank dong lending rates have declined by 50 to 100 basis points compared to the first week... 

Vietnam International Bank (VIB) on Friday signed a credit agreement with Vietnam Airlines, offering the national air carrier a loan of US$48 million to purchase an Airbus A321 to expand its fleet. This deal is seen as a landmark in the cooperation between the two sides. The loan has a term of ten years, which is the first-ever long-term credit offered by the local commercial bank to Vietnam Airlines,...