According to head of the central bank’s monetary policy department Bui Quoc Dung, loans rose by 18.98% over the last twelve months, with credit to agriculture, one of five priority sectors, up 7.71% against December last year.
As of March 3, loans to the remaining four priority sectors - exports, small and medium-sized enterprises, priority industries and high-tech enterprises - rose by 3.9%, 1.88%, 0.2% and 24.02%, respectively.
The SBV set a credit growth target of between 13% and 15% for the whole year, which Dung said is very much within reach.
Vietnam’s M2 money supply as of June 15 rose 4.88% while deposits were up by 4.37% during the same period, the central bank’s official added.
According to the central bank, deposit interest rates in the first half of 2014 have dropped by 0.2-0.5%, mainly deposits with terms of more than six months.
Lending rates have also gone down by 0.2-0.3%, averaging at 6-9% per year for short-term loans and 9-11% for medium and long-term loans.
To date, the SBV has devalued the Vietnamese dong twice, by 1% each time, in a bid to boost exports and drive economic growth, which means that there will be no more exchange rate adjustments for the rest of the year if the central bank keeps its pledge.
