The Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade in the Bien Hoa Industrial Zone, known as Vietinbank Bien Hoa, is offering business loans at 12%, on top of reducing rates on all existing loans to a maximum of 15%. In the near future, Vietinbank Bien Hoa will prioritize lending to rural and agricultural enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, exporters, and auxiliary industries. It is also considering credit packages  worth millions of USD for export activities at a maximum interest rate of 8%. Le Hoang Son, Vietinbank’s Director in the Bien Hoa Industrial Zone, says ’Under the Governor’s direction on restructuring debts and interest rate reduction, we have lowered the interest rate of old loans to a maximum of 15% per year. For new loans, we continue to offer a business loan program of medium and long term loans with interest rates of 15%, while loans to priority sectors are at 12 to 13% as regulated’.

The Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Agribank, in Dong Nai has also followed suit since the middle of last month. Nguyen Huy Trinh, the branch’s director, said it is offering the 13% rate to 4 priority groups: rural and agricultural enterprises, exporters, small and medium-sized enterprises, and auxiliary industries. This rate is far below the rate at the beginning of the year and will continue to shrink as requested by the State Bank of Vietnam.

The Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint-Stock Bank, Eximbank, has, to date, disbursed nearly 20 million USD in loans at 7%. Pham Quang Dat, Deputy Director of Eximbank, says ‘In June, we launched a 6-month loan package offering an interest rate of 7% and foreign exchange insurance for customers. The debt payment deadline of the program is December 31, 2012. By that day, customers pledge to pay a maximum 3% exchange rate. If the dollar price rises more than 3%, Eximbank will absorb the difference’.

Like other commercial banks, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, BIDV, has lowered its maximum rate to 15% and has also prioritized rural and agricultural enterprises, exporters, small and medium-sized enterprises, auxiliary industries, and flood recovery. The maximum interest rate for these sectors is 12%. So far, BIDV has made five reductions to its lending rate. Vo Van Ty heads up BIDV in Dong Nai ‘We have outlined a detailed program that involves measures on preferential interest rates, and lending fees and terms. We have also taken into careful consideration each enterprise and locality to offer appropriate policies and mechanisms to support them. In the first half of this year, the total debts of small and medium-sized enterprises, exporters, and companies working in rural agriculture was about 20% of BIDV’s total debts. Although the figure is not big, this only means we have accompanied businesses in overcoming current economic difficulties’.