HÀ NỘI – Credit in the first half of this year rose 6.2 per cent in comparison with the end of last year, according to the General Statistics Office.

The rise was slightly lower than the 6.28 per cent rate of H1 2015.

Among the cities and provinces, Hà Nội and HCM City reported high credit growth of 5.9 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively.

In this period, capital mobilisation also increased 8.23 per cent against the end of last year, much higher than the 4.58 per cent of H1 2015.

Deposit interest rate in H1 remained stable at 4.5-5.4 per cent per year on average for short-term deposits and 5.4-7.2 per cent per year for terms of over six months.

The central bank this year targeted credit growth of 18 per cent and industry insiders forecast the target to be feasible as lending often surges sharply in the second half of the year.

General director of Việt Nam Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) Lê Đức Thọ said lending growth in his bank, targeted at 18 per cent this year by the central bank, has been good, reaching 6 per cent by the end of May. Lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) showed the strongest growth.

Many new SMEs have been set up and the economy has improved, helping boost the firms’ capital needs, he said.

Thọ believes Vietinbank could meet the lending quota set by the central bank as it often rises sharply in Q3 and Q4. However, Thọ said, depending on market demands, the bank could adjust the target after making a proposal to the central bank. 

Bank for Foreign Trade of Việt Nam (Vietcombank) also reported a credit growth of 7.5 per cent by the end of May, the bank’s chairman, Nghiêm Xuân Thành, said. Besides boosting growth, Vietcombank would also focus on supervising credit quality, he added.

Other banks such as the Bank for Investment and Development of Việt Nam (BIDV), LienVietPostBank and VP Bank are also optimistic about their lending this year. - VNS