HCMC – The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the country's central bank, has made one-off credit growth quota allocations for commercial banks right at the start of 2024, instead of using the recurring allocation system as seen in previous years.

The central bank has set the credit growth target at 15% for the banking system. These credit growth quotas may be adjusted based on the actual market situation. Last year, the SBV aimed for a credit growth rate of 14% to 15%. However, as of December 29, credit growth in the banking system was a mere 11%. To make things more predictable, the SBV allocated credit growth quotas for banks in the beginning of the year, thus eliminating the need for banks to request a credit growth quota expansion as in previous years. The SBV determines a credit growth quota for a bank based on factors such as outstanding loans for 2023, 2022 bank rankings, outstanding debts to be sold in 2024, and unrecovered loans. For 100% foreign-owned banks and joint venture banks, outstanding loans at the end of 2024 must not exceed the approved quotas. These changes in credit management by the State Bank of Vietnam follow repeated requests by the prime minister to inject capital into the economy.