Banks forecast surge in profits

Banks forecast surge in profits

Ha Noi-based commercial banks are expected to buck the trend of economic gloom to report a surge in deposits and credit this year, according to the Ha Noi People's Committee.

The committee estimated banks in the capital would mobilise nearly VND897.65 trillion (US$42.75 billion) this year, up 9.23 per cent since January.

Lending would also surge 6.45 per cent to VND623.96 trillion ($29.71 billion), say the forecasts, of which long-term loans were twice as popular as their short-term counterparts. Meanwhile credit in Vietnamese dong rose 10.78 per cent as loans in US dollars declined 3.56 per cent.

Bad debts of Ha Noi-based banks would fall from 5.12 to 4.11 per cent

Credit issued by Ha Noi-based commercial banks in the second half leapt faster than the first half, when the banks reported a credit growth of only 2.35 per cent.

Due to the low credit growth and the high bad debt in H1, director of the State Bank of Viet Nam's Ha Noi branch Nguyen Thi Mai Suong admitted in June that the capital's banking system was facing major challenges, adding that the credit growth of banks in the capital in the first half of the year was the lowest it had been for a decade.

Credit surged higher in the second half of the year as lending interest rates have decreased significantly as the year has wore on.

vietnamnews