|
Banks resume funding car purchases on installment plan
After a long time of tightening consumer credit, some commercial banks have restarted the loaning to fund car purchases on installment plans, which is believed to help warm up the car market.
ANZ has announced it has resumed the credit package on funding car purchase on installment plans, which allows clients to borrow 75% of car values at maximum. The applications by clients for borrowing money will be checked and approved within 48 hours. However, the credit is applied only to the clients who purchase brand new cars.
Prior to that, An Binh Bank had also resumed the loaning to fund car purchases on installment. Clients can borrow at least 70% of the car value for 2-3 years.
The bank said that in order to be eligible to get loans from the bank, clients must have real estate, a savings book, or valuable papers worth over VND 100 million. The loaning is applied to the clients, who purchase brand new cars with less than eight seats.
Other banks have not mentioned the possibility of resuming credit to fund car purchases, but the moves by ANZ and An Binh banks and the tendency of decreasing bank interest rates have been seen as the positive signs for the consumer credit market.
This should also be seen as the good news for the automobile market, which had been gloomy for months partially because of the bank’s policy on tightening consumer credit.
Representatives from automobile manufacturers have blamed the policy on the low purchasing power, saying that the policy has made car purchases decrease by 50%.
“If banks all resume credit to fund car purchases, the car market will surely prosper, ending the last gloomy days,” said a business director of an automobile manufacturer, adding that more than a half of individual clients purchase cars on installment plans.
Automobile manufacturers have had a year with constant difficulties in 2008. The low purchasing power has forced a lot of big manufacturers to slash sale prices.
Mercedes Benz Vietnam (MBV) has launched the promotional program for December 2008, under which, the retail prices of import models under the form of complete built unit (CBU) have been lowered by 5%, while domestically manufactured C-class models are lowered by 10%.
Meanwhile, Ford Vietnam has also announced the price cuts of US $1,000-$5,000 a car of all models now available on the market, except the Ford Mondeo.
TBKTVN
|
