Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Enterprises expected access tobanking credit to be made easier to quench their thirst for capital during theprocess of recovering production and business.

Tran Sy Thanh, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, said at the recent conferenceto connect businesses and banks held by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in Hanoithat the credit policies failed to cover and support all businesses.

Thanh said that he expected banks to take timely actions to provide credit toenterprises while enterprises still have the ability to absorb capital. If thecapital came late, it would be difficult for enterprises to survive, he said.

Le Vinh Son, President of the Hanoi Association of Main Industrial Products(Hami), said that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) encountered a lotof difficulties in borrowing money from banks, including complicated proceduresand prolonged loan approval times.

He said that the slow reduction of rates also made it difficult forenterprises, proposing rates be lowered by 1-2%, which could be sourced fromthe banks’ profits.

“I do not suggest banks lower credit standards, but they could be more flexiblein assessing some financial criteria,” Son said.

Trinh Thi Ngan from the Hanoi Association of SMEs said that the 2%per year interest rate support programme primarily benefited large companies,while many SMEs, which needed the support most, found it difficult to accessit.

Banks should simplify procedures for SMEs to allow them to accessbanking credit, Ngan said.

Nguyen Trong Hoa, director of a steel company, said that theinterest rates should be lowered to around 6%.

SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong mentioned that the central bank would ask creditinstitutions to continue to reduce costs and accelerate digital transformationto create room for lowering rates. Additionally, Hong said enterprises shouldbe transparent in their financial situations and cash flow so that creditinstitutions would not be hesitant to provide lending.

Nguyen Thanh Tung, director of the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, sharedthat the bank would allocate 1.85 trillion VND from its profit to supportexisting loans.

Tung also emphasised that credit standards could not be lowered to prevent anincrease in bad debts in the future.

Ha Thu Giang, Director of SBV’s Credit Department, pointed outthat the pressure on banking credit was immense because other capital-raisingchannels, such as the corporate bond and securities market, were not veryefficient.

Senior economist Vo Tri Thanh stated that the challenge of improving credit accessand capital absorbability required a comprehensive solution that considered theentire economic system, not just the banking sector.

The SBV reduced rates four times by approximately 0.5-2 percentage points intotal during the first nine months of this year to support the economy./.