State Bank of Vietnam issues banking-sector action plan to strengthen social policy credit and maintain 2% deposits at the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has published a banking-sector action plan to implement the Government’s rollout of the Communist Party Secretariat’s Directive on improving the effectiveness of social policy credit, setting out specific workstreams, responsibilities and coordination arrangements for SBV units, the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) and state-owned credit institutions. Key measures include sector-wide dissemination and training on the Directive and related Government plan, a review of existing social policy credit programmes, and work to amend and complete SBV-led legal instruments and policy mechanisms for social policy credit. The plan also covers coordination with ministries on the framework affecting VBSP, strengthening SBV direction of VBSP credit programmes (including those linked to national target programmes), maintaining VBSP’s specialised governance and operating model in the Government decree on its organisation and activities, updating VBSP-specific debt classification rules, and increasing inspection, supervision and communications. It reiterates that state-owned credit institutions, including Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade of Vietnam and Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, must maintain deposit balances at VBSP equal to 2% of their VND mobilised funding as at 31 December of the preceding year.