Time for banks to reshuffle the deck

That is the message from Ho Chi Minh City-based Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) general director Nguyen Dinh Tung.

“It would be hard to rescue firms if bank rates are still pegged high. Banks should sacrifice part of their profits to give firms a life pontoon which also a means to rescue themselves,” Tung said.

Tung supposed rescheduling export firms’ short-term loans into medium and long-term loans would help firms get through this difficult period.

“We are willing to reschedule debts for firms having real strength,” said Vietcombank’s chairman Nguyen Hoa Binh.

 Sacombank had in the past months rescheduled VND1.5 trillion ($71.4 million) in debts amount to its clients and scaled-down old loan interest rates to 15 per cent per year for VND8 trillion ($381 million) worth of old loans of all sorts, according to its general director Phan Huy Khang.

Besides, the bank rolled out diverse credit packages with 13-15 per cent per year interest rates.

Eximbank director Truong Van Phuoc said the bank had extended maturities of over VND3 trillion ($142.8 million) worth loans to more than 600 firms. Some firms had their debt maturity extended from one to two years and even seven years in special cases.

Phuoc said since current inventory growth pace had doubled banking sector’s credit growth which only hiked 0.9 per cent by July 28, 2012 banks and firms must sit together to seek remedies.
 
Eximbank has step-by-step rescheduled and extended debt maturity to share difficulties of its clients.

State Bank governor Nguyen Van Binh assumed albeit Decision 780/QD-NHNN clearly regulated debt restructuring of banks and credit organizations there needed to be a flexible approach and close coordination between banks and firms. Firms needed to spur production and trading to be able to repay loans but a comprehensive suite of measures would be required to tackle the issue.