(VOVworld) – The State Bank of Vietnam organized a conference on Wednesday to review the operation of the banking sector in 2013 and work out tasks for next year.

The conference works out tasks for the banking sector in 2014 (Photo: VGP/ Nhat Bac)

Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stressed that monitoring the banking sector’s monetary policy in a prudent and flexible manner is a top priority. Dung said this effort is in line with the goals of controlling inflation, stabilizing the macro-economy, and providing loans to enterprises to boost production and growth. The Prime Minister asked the State Bank of Vietnam to flexibly manage tools of monetary policy which are closely attached to the fiscal policy. He hopes this will steady inflation at 6.5 to 7 percent and boost the economy’s growth rate to 5.8 percent in 2014. Dung added that it is essential to fortify weak banks and he emphasized that those banks need to restructure themselves first: "The banks which work ineffectively with large bad debts, unclear management and cross ownership need to restructure themselves first before the state’s interference. If the State Bank of Vietnam is not consistent with its restructuring policy, it will lead to an unstable economy". 

The Prime Minister asked the banking sector to focus on reducing bad debts, while promoting inspection and supervising the operation of credit organizations.