Improve financial inclusion  for Mekong Delta region

(VBSP News) On 28th June 2017, VBSP coordinated with the Southwest steering committee to organize the conference “Sum up five years (2012-2016) of improving the policy credit quality in the Mekong Delta (Southwest) region”.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue speaks at the conference on policy lending to the Mekong Delta region

VBSP’s General Director Duong Quyet Thang remarked that the quality of policy credits for the Southwest region has improved, evidenced by a sharp fall in bad debts.

VBSP’s General Director Duong Quyet Thang reported the five-year result of improving financial inclusion for the Mekong Delta region  

As of December 31, 2016, the total amount of overdue debts in the Mekong Delta was a mere VND 224.5 billion, accounting for only 0.81% of total outstanding loans. “Overdue debts in all 13 localities in the Mekong Delta have fallen,” Mr. Thang said.

The ratio of overdue debts in Hau Giang as of the end of last year had fallen by 7.86 percentage points to 0.43%, that in An Giang had shrunk by 7.39 percentage points to 0.98%, while the ratio in Ca Mau had also been reduced by 5.04 percentage points to 0.73%.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue highly appreciated the outstanding achievement of VBSP after five years of improving policy credit in the Southwest region.

He urged the bank and local leaders to make greater efforts to increase policy credits for the people in the Mekong Delta, especially the poor.

The goal for the bank in the next three to five years is that all poor families must have access to policy credits so that poor people there do not fall victim to black-market lenders or loan sharks. Credit lines for the people in the region must also be further increased, Hue said.

He said that between now and 2020, the Government will set aside VND23 trillion for policy lending, comprised of VND15 trillion as interest rate subsidies, VND 5 trillion to spur the bank’s chartered capital, and VND 3 trillion to partially cover interest for borrowers to purchase budget homes.

Deputy PM Hue at the seminar asked the State Bank of Vietnam to increase the amount of deposits from other commercial banks into the network of the Social Policy Bank. In addition, all provinces in the Mekong Delta must also increase their contributions to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, each with at least VND100 billion a year in the next three years, he said.

                                                                           Source: http://english.thesaigontimes.vn