Under Prime Minister Decision No. 333/QD-TTg of March 10, financial institutions (except specialized financial institutions providing consumer credits and issuing credit cards), which ensure credit safety ratios, set aside a backup for credit risks in banking operations and have a non-performing loan/total credit loan balance ratio of under five per cent, will enjoy lending interest rate subsidy for their loans, in addition to eligible entities defined in Decision No. 131/QD-TTg of January 23.
From March 10, short-term bank loans (working capital) in Vietnam dong for mining companies are also eligible for interest rate subsidies.
As prescribed in Decision No. 131, the interest rate subsidy of four per cent/year will be given only to loans provided by state-run and joint-stock commercial banks, joint-venture banks, foreign banks’ Vietnam-based subsidiaries, wholly foreign-owned banks and the Central People’s Credit Fund and to Vietnam-dong short-term loans under credit contracts signed and performed in 2009 to organizations and individuals for use as working capital for production and business.
The maximum lending term eligible for the subsidy is eight months, for loans under credit contracts signed and performed between February 1 and December 31, 2009.
According to the State Bank of Vietnam, by March 6 the total balance of loans covered by the interest rate subsidy reached VND 113,708 billion.-