HCMC CREDIT GROWTH SEEN AT 13.5% IN 2025

Stacks of Vietnamese banknotes are seen at a bank in HCMC - PHOTO: LE VU

HCMC – Credit growth in HCMC is expected to improve in 2025 compared with last year, but it will remain slower than the national average, according to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

A report by the SBV’s Region 2 branch said total outstanding loans in HCMC are estimated to exceed VND5 quadrillion in 2025, up 13.5% from the end of 2024. Credit growth in December alone is estimated at about 0.95% compared with November, bringing the year-to-date increase to 12.43% by the end of November.

Total deposits in the city are estimated at around VND5.17 quadrillion, up 11.94% year-on-year. By the end of November, deposits had risen 10.83% compared with the end of 2024, a level regulators described as relatively solid.

The figures show that HCMC’s credit growth in 2025 improved from 11.34% recorded in 2024. However, deposit growth slowed from 15.28% last year. Credit expansion in the city also continued to trail the overall national growth rate.

Lending rates edged up toward the end of the year. Short-term lending rates rose by about 0.3–0.5 percentage point from the previous month and were 0.5–0.8 percentage point higher than at the end of 2024. Medium- and long-term lending rates increased by around 0.4 percentage point at state-owned commercial banks, declined by about 4.5 percentage points at joint-venture and foreign banks, and remained broadly stable at private commercial banks.

The report also highlighted positive results from the bank–business connectivity program in HCMC, with registered credit packages reaching a record level.

In 2025, 18 banks registered loan commitments totaling VND517.1 trillion, up 1.4% from a year earlier. Disbursements reached VND871.5 trillion for more than 221,000 borrowing transactions, equivalent to 168.6% of the initially registered amount.

Including loans signed through dialogue conferences and credit agreements, banks in the city disbursed a total of VND881.3 trillion to about 223,000 borrowers, up 27.4% from the actual disbursement level in 2024.

Source: The Saigon Times