Credit institutions have so far supported more than 44,000 COVID-19 affected customers following directions from the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV), an official reported on Monday.

Tran Ngoc Tho, member of the National Advisory Council on Financial and Monetary Policies, digs into the implications of coronavirus.

Most banks made fat profits in 2019 and some of them had profit of over tens of trillion of dong. But their profits mostly came from lending.

SSI Research says the financial market in 2020 will be unpredictable and much less active than the forecasts released at the end of 2019.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has many times affirmed that Vietnam has no intention of devaluing the local currency to gain advantages in trade with its partners.

The official dong/dollar exchange rate announced by SBV reached a peak of VND23,206 per dollar on February 4, an increase of VND36 per dollar compared with the time before Tet.

Fitch Ratings believes larger, more established finance companies are better-placed to meet the new requirements while newer, smaller companies that concentrate on cash loans may find it harder to shift their business models.

To keep up with the ever-evolving technology, banks have to be well-positioned to engage with the new wave of digitally empowered customers.

With Circular 22, which took effect on January 1, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has laid a new block to restrict capital flow to the property sector.

Total assets of commercial banks under state ownership accounted for 42.7% of the total in the banking sector, followed by joint stock commercial banks with 41.6%.

Vietnam’s banks started replacing magnetic cards with chip cards some years ago, but the process has been going slowly.

Vietnam is one of 10 countries in the latest watchlist for currency manipulation released by the US Treasury Department.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said it will continue coordinating with concerned Vietnamese ministries and agencies to communicate with the US regarding the US Department of Treasury’s latest report

The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) will be consistent in regulating monetary policies according to market developments, with no aim for an unfair competitive edge in international trade.

 The Government supports the policy of allowing four State-owned banks to raise charter capital, said Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) Le Minh Hung.

Eighteen commercial banks are listed on the bourse, but only one bank entered the bourse in 2019.

2019 witnessed low credit growth rate.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has issued a document requesting credit organisations and branches of foreign banks to expand credit activities serving production, business and consumption as part of efforts to limit “black credit”.

A report by securities firm SSI says deposit interest rates are likely to be cut by 0.5- 1 percentage point this year, and lending interest rates would also be cut by at least 0.5 percentage points as required by the Government.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has issued a resolution to boost cashless payments in the country.