Those in attendance at the meeting were Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Tran Van Son, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phuc, leaders of ministries and agencies along with presidents and general directors of commercial banks.
In his speech, the Government chief outlined the difficulties and challenges of the global and domestic economic situation when all economies are heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020 and 2021 period.
Greater efforts should be stepped up to effectively perform regular tasks and deal with pending issues and urgent problems that arise, and promptly respond to changes in the world and domestic situation, he went on to say.
In that very difficult context, thanks to the leadership of the Party, the drastic direction and management of the Government, the support and active participation of the people, business community, and international assistance, the socio-economic situation over the past 9 months of the year saw positive recovery and achieved important results in multiple fields.
It is estimated that the nation would reach and exceed 14 out of15 targets set for the whole year. In that result, there is a great contribution of the banking sector, he added.
The Vietnamese cabinet leader hailed the banking sector for responding promptly to difficulties and challenges from both outside and inside, performing very well two tasks of controlling inflation and ensuring macroeconomic stability, and providing credit to support the national economy.
Upon addressing the meeting SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong said that despite facing numerous difficulties and challenges, the banking sector has operated the monetary policy in proactive and flexibly manner in harmony with the fiscal policy and other policies in order to control inflation, stabilize the macro-economy, promote growth, and ensure major balances. As a result, interest and exchange rates are basically stable.
The system of commercial banks is constantly growing in size, quality and financial capacity with total assets of about VND7.5 trillion. Notably, 4 state-owned commercial banks reached over US$ 7 trillion, Hong added.
Banks have actively supported people and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with a range of measures. The commercial banking system promotes digital transformation, application of information technology and non-cash payments.
Furthermore, commercial banks have always shown their social responsibility by actively becoming involved in hunger eradication, poverty alleviation, disaster recovery efforts, providing medical supplies and equipment and making great contributions to the COVID-19 Vaccine Fund.
