Hanoi (VNA) – Credit institutions have so farsupported more than 44,000 clients affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, andassistance will continue in the time ahead, heard a meeting between the State Bankof Vietnam (SBV) and those organisations in Hanoi on March 2.

Nguyen Quoc Hung, Director of the SBV’sDepartment of Credit for Economic Sectors, said credit organisations haveassisted the affected clients whose outstanding loans total some 222 trillionVND (9.6 billion USD) through such measures as extending debt repaymentdeadlines, exempting or reducing loan interests, and cutting down fees.

He noted the epidemic’s impact has made manyclients unable to repay their debts on schedule, thus raising the rate ofoverdue and non-performing loans.

Twenty-three credit institutions have reportedto the SBV that about 926 trillion VND in outstanding loans have been affectedby COVID-19, accounting for 14.27 percent of their total of this kind and 11.3percent of the whole system’s figure.

Some sectors highly vulnerable to the outbreakinclude agriculture, forestry, fisheries, export, import, accommodation andfood services, transportation, textile-garment, footwear, electronics, oil andgas, tourism, and education, Hung said.

Nearly 30 commercial banks have coordinated withthe National Payment Corporation of Vietnam to exempt and reduce money transferfees. Besides, the SBV’s National Credit Information Centre has also decreasedinformation service charges to help credit organisations cut down costs andinterest rates, according to the official.

At the meeting, participating institutions alsopointed out some difficulties in providing support for clients of this group andsuggested measures for increasing assistance.

Applauding their activeness, SBV Deputy GovernorDao Minh Tu asked credit organisations to press on with the work.

Tu said the central bank is working withrelevant agencies to swiftly perfect the legal system to facilitate both creditorganisations and businesses in dealing with damage caused by COVID-19.

He added the banking sector is one of thosetaking the lead in carrying out drastic solutions to help clients influenced bythe disease, and its actions have been highly valued by the Government,businesses and people./.