SOCBs reach consensus on IRM and forex market stability

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) held a mid-year conference on May 29 to review its operations in the first six months of 2009 and chart out its tasks for the rest of the year. The state-owned commercial banks (SOCBs) and the Joint-Stock Commercial Bank of Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) reached high consensus on the measures of interest rate management (IRM) and foreign exchange market stability aimed at meeting the monetary policy objectives of the SBV and the Government.

SOCBs and Vietcombank came up with their proposal and consensus that from June 1st these banks would adjust downward the USD interest rates, namely the highest mobilizing rate of 1.5% p.a. and the lending cap of 3% p.a. The Governor spoke highly of this proposal and called upon the Vietnam Banks Association to encourage the other member banks to follow suit.

SOCBs and Vietcombank also reached high consensus on the plan of monitoring and supervising the implementation of the interest rate subsidy scheme, foreign exchange management and prudent banking operations. As planned, from the beginning of June, the Financial Supervision Agency should accelerate its inspection and supervision on a broader scale of foreign exchange trading of the commercial banks in order to do away with the hoarding of foreign exchange by enterprises, and preventing them from using foreign exchange as collateral to get VND bank loans; and decisively dealing with all violations and acts of manipulating the interest rate subsidy scheme.

sbv

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