Hanoi (VNA)– The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has been drastically implementing measures, particularly tho﷽se to reduce loan interest rates, said its deputy governor Dao Minh Tu at a regular government press conference on May 5, calling it one of the important and practical policies to helpbusinesses.

In the first fourmonths of the year, the bank implemented eight policies to support businesses and since thebeginning of the year, the SBV has reduced the regulatory interest rate twice, the official said. Tu said that ingeneral, credit institutions reduce deposit interest by 1-1.2%, and reduce thegeneral lending interest rate of banks in the whole system by 0.5-0.65%.Particularly, state-owned commercial banks saw a more positive reduction withdeposit interest rates being decreased by 1-1.5%, and lending rates by 1.5-2%. According to SBV’s statistics, for new deposits andnewly made loans and credits, the average deposit rate is 6-6.1% and theaverage lending interest rate is 9-9.2%. The figuresshow positive adjustments for interest rates, said Tu. Responding to thepublic expectation of lowering interest rates in the coming time, the official said the bank will continue implementing flexible andreasonable monetary policies, ensuring the main objectives of controllinginflation and stabilising the value of the local currency and the harmonisationbetween the exchange and interest rates. Therefore, the SBV is continuing to instruct banks to cut interest rates, creating conditionsfor enterprises to borrow, and expand credit from now to the end of thisyear./.