Hanoi (VNA) – The banking industry has beenradically restructuring credit institutions in combination with handling baddebts to ensure their safe, healthy and sustainable growth, said a central banksenior official.

Deputy Governor of State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyen Kim Anh made thestatement at a forum on the 2018 banking industry towards sustained growth heldin Hanoi on May 8.

According to Anh, the restructuring of credit institutions has so farbeen positive with the non-performing loan ratio of the entire banking systembeing kept at below 3 percent.

To ensure the sustainedgrowth of the banking industry, the central bank will soon finalise the appraisaland approval of credit institutions’ restructuring plans besides closely supervisingtheir operation, especially ailing ones, to timely take actions.

The SBV has so farapproved the restructuring plans of most banks. However, the restructuringplans of financial companies and financial leasing companies are still beingprepared.

As for State-ownedcommercial banks, the restructuring will focus on enhancing the banks’financial status after their restructuring plans are approved by the PrimeMinister, Anh said, adding that according to a decision issued last year the onrestructuring credit institutions in combination with non-performing loansettlement for 2016-20, State-owned banks must improve their charter capital tomeet Basel standards.

The SBV’s Deputy ChiefInspector Pham Huyen Anh said the central bank will also resolutely deal withthe cross ownership and violation of the limit regulation on ownership ofshares at banks to avoid group interests, which could cause damage to theentire banking system.

Solutions on trading NPLsaccording to the market mechanism will also be implemented together withmeasures to control risks of the trading method, he noted.

At the forum experts praisedthe SBV’s handling of monetary management policy in recent years, noting it hashelped stabilise the macroeconomy, support economic growth, and createconfidence among investors.

TheSBV has taken rational steps to manage monetary policies, said Vice Chairman ofthe National Assembly’s Economic Committee Nguyen Duc Kien.

Credit growth target was always included in the Government’s annualreport to the National Assembly as a mandatory goal that required the SBV topump money to achieve it if necessary, Kien said. It is now just an indicatorfor reference, he added.

Echoing Kien’s view, Pham Thanh Ha, Director of the SBV’s MonetaryPolicy Department said the SBV has shifted its focus on ultimate goals tomaintain a stable money value, control inflation and support economic growth.

Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Directorof Fulbright University Vietnam, said the monetary management policy isoperating so well that the central bank should not loosen it.

The SBV had to do so ayear ago to support economic growth, which reached only over five percent inthe first quarter of 2017, Thanh noted, adding that the country’s GDP growthlast year was supported significantly by the monetary policy.-VNA