Lending rates to stock investors, consumers stay high

Interest rates for stock and consumer loans in August mostly ranged from 16% to 20% per annum, while deposit and other lending interest rates stayed flat, said the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in its latest press release.

Interest rates for stock and consumer loans in August mostly ranged from 16% to 20% per annum, while deposit and other lending interest rates stayed flat, said the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in its latest press release.

Deposits and lending interest rates for the dong steadied in August, said the SBV, adding that deposit interest rates for the dong ranged from 10.6% to 11.2%; while short-term lending interest rates was mostly 12%-12.5% for three groups of policy borrowers, including rural and agriculture businesses, exporters and small & medium enterprises.

Dong lending interest rates charged by state-owned and commercial banks hovered around 12.5%-13.5%, lending interest rates for other business activities were mostly 13%-15%.

Meanwhile, deposit and lending interest rates for the greenback were neglectably changed.

At the begining of August, dollar prices at the unofficial market exceeded the cap of VND19,100 at the official market, fueled dollar tension in the forex market.

However, dollar prices at the unofficial market currently stay flat VND19,480 and VND19,520 for bid and ask, respectively after some downward adjustments as the result of the 2.09% dong devaluation on August 18.

Meanwhile, dollar bid and ask held at VND19,475 and19.500 VND at the official market, said the SBV, adding that it will continue to monitor the forex market and ensure exchange rate stability

As of August, total outstanding deposits roughly rose 0.75% on year, while total outstanding loans rose 16.27% on year.

The country’s broadest measure of total money supply, or M2, grew 16.31% from end -2009, of which cash in circulation was up 8.37%.

The central bank have taken drastic measures to ensure this year targets of total money supply (M2) expansion of 20%, credit growth +25% and GDP growth +6.5%. – Stoxplus.com