The Government issued Decree 31/2022/NĐ-CP on the interest rate subsidy for loans given to enterprises, co-operatives and business households that took effect on May 20. 

Worth VNĐ40 trillion (US$1.69 billion), the programme is expected to be a significant source of support to help businesses, cooperatives and business households recover after the pandemic.

An HDBank transaction office in HCM City. HDBank has identified the Government’s 2 per cent interest rate subsidy package as one of the important tasks to be carried out. — Photo courtesy of the bank

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To implement the programme effectively and answer questions from businesses, banks have organised nationwide conferences, with each attracting hundreds of businesses.

Addressing 300 business executives at the conference on September 26, Trần Hoài Phương, director of HDBank's corporate banking division, said HDBank was one of the first lenders to deploy the Government’s 2 per cent interest rate subsidy programme besides offering preferential credit packages and specific products and services tailored to various customer groups.

Lenders, including HDBank, have identified the 2 per cent subsidy package as one of the important tasks to be carried out.

When it received instructions from the central bank, HDBank promptly issued internal regulations and organised system-wide training courses.

It reviewed the list of customers to see who are eligible to receive support under the programme and help customers complete procedures to get the subsidy.

Information about customers participating in the conference and seeking the interest rate subsidy has been sent to HDBank’s transaction offices to provide the support, regulations permitting.

The bank also sent information about the programme to customers through SMS, email and brochures (at the counter) and by directly contacting them.

It has established a committee to monitor implementation of the programme, launched an emulation programme for implementation at all its business units throughout the system.

HDBank has mechanisms, policies and procedures in place to handle customers' requests for the 2 per cent interest rate support to ensure the programme is implemented in a strict, open, transparent, and simplified manner while complying with the government decree and SBV circular.

All customers who meet the conditions and provide all relevant records and documents can get the subsidised loan in the shortest possible time.

HDBank also has software to automatically process and refund interest to customers’ accounts, helping them easily manage, check and compare the subsidy.

Customers who need more information about the support package can contact the bank’s nearest branch/transaction office or hotline 19006060.

Businesses eligible for the interest rate support belong to two main groups:

The first includes aviation, transportation and warehousing; tourism; accommodation and food and beverages services; education and training; agriculture, forestry and fisheries; processing and manufacturing; software publishing; computer programming and related operations; and information services.

The second group comprises developers of social and workers’ housing and those renovating old apartment buildings as decided by the Ministry of Construction based on proposals from people’s committees of provinces and cities.

The subsidy term is from the date of loan disbursement to the time when the customer pays off the principal and/or interest as agreed with the bank but no later than December 31, 2023.

The interest rate subsidy applies to loans given between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023, and not eligible to benefit under any other government policy.

HDBank is also taking a number of measures to support other groups of customers and mitigate their difficulties.

For instance, the bank in collaboration with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour is disbursing a VNĐ10 trillion ($423.48 million) loan package for workers at half the market interest rate through the bank’s finance company HD SAISON.

HDBank is among the lenders to have received a credit limit extension from the State Bank of Vietnam.

This is a favourable condition for HDBank to further lend to customers who are eligible for interest rate subsidies, thus contributing to implementing the Government and the SBV’s policies effectively and promoting the programme for socio-economic recovery and development in 2022-23.