Interest rate cut targeted for end months

The central bank will instruct co妹妹ercial banks to try and cut interest rate in the remaining months of the year. — Photo SBV

HÀ NỘI — The State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) will instruct co妹妹ercial banks to try and cut interest rate in the remaining months of the year.

It is among SBV’s monetary policies that will be applied in the remaining months of the year, SBV announced on Tuesday.

According to SBV, it is ready to support liquidity for credit institutions, aimed at ensuring the safety of the banking system and stabilising deposit interest rates.

Besides this, the central bank also required credit institutions to take measures to reduce operating costs and improve business efficiency to create favourable conditions to reduce lending interest rates for priority sectors and business areas.

Lending in the remaining months of this year will continuously focus on prioritised areas of agricultural production, export business, production of small and medium-sized enterprises, auxiliary industry and high-tech production.

The central bank reported that credit growth in the first nine months this year was  一 一.0 二 per cent, higher than the rates of  一0. 四 六 per cent and  一0. 七 八 per cent in the same period of  二0 一 六 and  二0 一 五, respectively.

During the period, lending to prioritised industries rose against last year, of which loans to agriculture and rural development, and high-tech production were up  一 七 per cent and  二 五. 一 二 per cent, respectively.

Liquidity of the banking system in the first nine months was relatively good. The average ratio of lending to deposits (LDR) of the system reached some   八 七. 二 per cent, higher than the  八 七 per cent recorded at the end of the second quarter and much higher than late  二0 一 六 ( 八 五. 四 七 per cent) and  二0 一 五 ( 八 五. 六 per cent). The LDR in đồng was  八 八 per cent and in foreign currency was  七 三 per cent.

Average ratio of short-term funds used for medium and long-term loans of credit institutions during the period was estimated at some  三 三. 四 per cent, slightly down compared with  三 四. 五 per cent in late  二0 一 六. — VNS