The State Bank of Vietnam has issued guidance to commercial banks and its regional branches 13, 14 and 15 to ensure adequate and timely credit for rice production, processing, procurement, temporary storage and exports in 2025, with particular focus on financing purchases of the Winter–Spring 2025 crop in the Mekong Delta. Commercial banks are instructed to proactively balance funding sources and avoid cases where eligible households and firms with effective business plans cannot access loans, or only access them late, due to burdensome conditions and procedures. Banks are asked to consider raising credit limits and loan tenors, within legal requirements, for capable rice buyers, processors and exporters with storage systems, and to expand medium- and long-term credit for investments in warehouses, machinery and processing, preservation and storage equipment. The guidance also calls for operating cost reductions and greater use of information technology to lower lending rates, preferential-rate lending for rice producers and traders, simplified documentation and collateral processes aligned to seasonality, and continued implementation of agricultural and rural credit policies and the Mekong Delta programme for high-quality, low-emission rice value chains. Regional branches 13–15 must direct local bank branches to implement these measures and coordinate with local authorities to strengthen bank–business connectivity programmes, including communication of banking credit policies via the Vietnam Food Association and the Vietnam Rice Industry Association. Bank chief executives and regional branch directors are required to monitor market developments and rice-sector lending and report issues beyond their authority to the State Bank of Vietnam and relevant ministries and provincial authorities for handling.
State Bank of Vietnam 2025-03-07
State Bank of Vietnam directs banks to expand and streamline credit for Mekong Delta rice production, procurement and exports
The State Bank of Vietnam has guided commercial banks and regional branches to ensure timely credit for rice production and exports in 2025, focusing on the Winter–Spring crop in the Mekong Delta. Banks are instructed to balance funding, raise credit limits, and simplify loan processes for rice buyers and processors. Regional branches must coordinate with local authorities to enhance bank-business connectivity and report issues to the State Bank of Vietnam.