Vietnam’s finance and banking sector has reduced its ratio of non-performing loans from 17.2 percent in 2012 to 6.7 percent at the end of June 2018. According to analysts, the achievement was partly thanks to more reasonable credit growth. Annual credit growth rate in the 2011-17 period was 14.3 percent, much lower than the 34 percent rate recorded from 2006-10. The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam’s Research Centre said confidence in domestic banks had also improved significantly, noting that international ratings agencies such as Fitch and Moody’s had upgraded the ratings for 12 Vietnamese banks in May and August this year.  Profitability among banks, securities and insurance companies had also risen with return on assets and return on equity increasing sharply in recent years.  At the same time, domestic financial institutions have also become more transparent with 23 of 35 banks being audited by international auditing firms. -VNS/VNA