Bank of the Lao holds national consultation on credit policy management to inform a framework through 2030

The Bank of the Lao convened a consultation meeting on the management of credit activity in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, bringing together internal departments, ministries, commercial banks, non-bank financial institutions and other stakeholders. The discussions were positioned as a stocktake of credit management over 2015–2025 and a forum to gather input for a draft direction on credit policy management through 2030, including the Bank’s 2026–2030 implementation plan. The draft direction sets out a vision focused on enabling financial institutions to provide targeted and efficient funding while safeguarding monetary and financial stability, and outlines measures such as keeping system-wide credit volumes at an appropriate level, increasing the share of kip-denominated lending, applying credit risk management tools and promoting green finance. It also highlights support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and references 7 overall targets, 11 work programmes and 30 indicators for future implementation; the meeting programme included 14 presentations from Bank of the Lao departments. In remarks cited from the chair, commercial bank credit expanded steadily over the past decade and averaged around 50% of GDP. Feedback from the consultation is intended to be incorporated into the draft research work underpinning the updated credit policy management direction through 2030.