Banks reinvigorate lending

Since few firms could satisfy strict lending requirements, banks sought to expand credit growth through promoting personal lending.

Ho Chi Minh City-based HDBank offered individual customers wanted to borrow for production, business or consumption needs lower interest rates ranging from 12.4 to 13 per cent, per year. Of this, loan packages to housing repairs or purchases fetch from 12.4 per cent, per year, and those for consumption needs having interest rates starting from 13 per cent, per year

Lending rates to individual customers at HSBC Vietnam were also downwardly revised with the lowest lending rate set at 13.75 per cent applicable to personal credit contracts having interest rates revised one month later. From February to May 2012, HSBC Vietnam cut lending rates four times.

Meanwhile, ANZ offered personal lending competitive rates with the lowest rate set at 13.5 per cent, per year. Besides, the lending rate will be revised based on market trends, according to an ANZ source.

VPBank announced to ease its lending rate to just 12 per cent, per year for car or house purchases and repairs. This rate will remain stable for three months. The programme total loan package is VND1,900 billion ($90.4 million).

Similarly, state giant BIDV rolled out VND4,000 billion ($190 million) credit package to support house purchases by individual customers with rates ranging from 12-13 per cent per year.
In fact, current lending rates banks offer to customers are 6-8 per cent lower compared to five months ago.

However, VPBank and BIDV bank executives said loan disbursement was still low and assumed customers might expect further drop in bank rates before taking on loans.

HSBC Vietnam supposed lending rates to house purchases would continue to slide  parallel to diverse bank promotions, paving the way for a warming up of the property market.

The bank said it had met a number of housing development companies in the past months, which showcased increasing attention to Vietnam’s realty market development.

Senior financial expert Le Xuan Nghia assumed lower interest rates alone were not enough to inspire personal credit growth. Property project developers needed to sacrifice part of their profits to soften property prices to lure customers and drain out their unsold stock which is on the rise.