CONFERENCE HELD ON MONETARY POLICY TASKS

At a conference launching this year’s monetary policy-related tasks to tackle obstacles in production and business, facilitate growth, and maintain macro-economic stability, held by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on March 14, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the central bank to keep a close watch on the international and domestic situation to govern monetary policy in a proactive, flexible, timely, and effective manner. It needs to ensure harmony between interest rates and exchange rates, effective credit growth, and safety for banking activities and credit institutions, he said, adding that it must also boost inspections, examinations, and the supervision of loan provision by credit institutions. The government leader also asked credit institutions to carry out measures promoting credit growth; channeling capital into production and business activities, priority areas, and growth drivers; and strictly controlling credit for high-risk fields. According to the SBV, credit growth in January-February declined compared to late 2023, but deposits remained considerable, with VND14 quadrillion ($566.9 billion) put into bank accounts during the period. However, enterprises are still facing shortages of capital for production and business activities, lending interest rates remain high, and non-performing loans are tending to increase.