HCM City’s bad debts down to 3.8 percent

 Bad debts collected in cash in eight months of 2016 reached VND16.312 billion - Photo: baohaiquan

Ho Chi Minh City’s bad debts had decreased to 3.8 percent of total credit outstanding balance by the end of August, said Director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s municipal branch To Duy Lam during a working session with the city’s National Assembly deputies on October 17.

Local banks settled more than 35 trillion VND (1.56 billion USD) in bad debts, he revealed, adding that in the past nine months, total credit outstanding balance in the city rose over 13 percent, while total lending increased nearly 11 percent year on year.

At the session, local banks highly valued the role of the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) in tacking bad debts as well as proposed policies and mechanisms in dealing with the debts.

Do Minh Toan, General Director of the Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) attributed difficulties in the work to shortcomings in the procedure of handling bad debts, especially a lack of effective measures to deal with irresponsible asset owners.

At the same time, local authorities and economic departments at districts have yet to well perform their role in coordinating and supporting banks in handling bad debts, he said.

Meanwhile, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Dinh La Thang asked local commercial banks to actively work with the VAMC in seeking efficient solutions to the work.

Relevant agencies should clarify the exact amount of bad debts and design strategies to speed up the restructuring and management of bad debts, thus winning trust of customers and locals.

Thang also requested the State Bank of Vietnam’s municipal branch as well as commercial banks to work together to soon announce credit packages for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises in line with seven breakthrough programs of the city./.

Source: VNA