HANOI: Credit in the first quarter of 2026 surged by 3.18% against late last year to 19.18 quadrillion dong, supporting Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.83%, Pham Thanh Ha, deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), says.
Speaking at the press conference in Hanoi on Tuesday on reviewing the banking industry’s first quarter (1Q) of 2026, Ha said that bank credit in the period focused on business and production, economic growth drivers and priority sectors.
In particular, he mentioned industry, agriculture and rural development, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), trade and services.
Institutions actively disbursed funds for credit programmes as directed by the Prime Minister, such as the credit programme for the forestry and fisheries sector and the programme for lending to production, processing and consumption of high-quality and low-emission rice products in the Mekong Delta region.
Ha said: “The SBV continued to maintain the benchmark interest rates in 1Q to facilitate credit institution’ access to capital. — Viet Nam News/ANN
