HÀ NỘI — All banking activities in 2026 must be innovative and contribute consistently to the goals of maintaining macro-economic stability, controlling inflation and promoting double-digit growth, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính said on Wednesday.

He was speaking at a conference summarising the 2021-25 period and outlining tasks for the banking sector in 2026.

The PM said that in the past five years, the banking sector has gained achievements on creating open institution, pioneering infrastructure, flexible policies and rational management to help the sector develop sustainably and benefit the people.

Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyễn Thị Hồng told the event that although the 2021-25 period saw unprecedented changes, difficulties and challenges, the banking sector gained many significant achievements, completing set goals and tasks.

“Monetary policy has been managed flexibly, actively supporting high economic growth, inflation control, and foreign exchange market stability," Hồng said.

"The banking sector has been actively implementing the restructuring plan for credit institutions. The SBV has been also one of the leading ministries and sectors in digital transformation, administrative procedure reform, database construction and the development of many utilities serving businesses and citizens.”

Also at the event, the PM directed the banking sector to ensure major economic balances and control budget deficits, public debts, government debts and foreign debts next year.

Besides creating stronger breakthroughs in institutional and administrative reforms in the monetary and banking sectors to meet the country's development requirements, PM Chính also instructed the banking industry to effectively manage banking operations, especially foreign exchange and cross-border capital flows, in the International Financial Centre in HCM City and Đà Nẵng.

Under the current context, research should be conducted to select an appropriate time to remove credit limits, while in the future, the mechanism for allocating credit growth limits as in 2025 should continue to be implemented based on bank ratings.

Management should be linked to credit rating results, thereby applying them flexibly and appropriately to each credit institution, and implementing strict rewards and penalties.

In addition, the PM requested the banking sector to continue promoting the development of science and technology, innovation and national digital transformation. Credit flows must also serve this purpose.

At the same time, the safety of the monetary, credit and banking systems must be ensured. Banks must control risks in accordance with international practices and market mechanisms to ensure healthy and sustainable development.

The management of credit quota should be appropriately and based on each bank's rating. Credit flows to areas with potential risks must be paid close attention to ensure credit quality and the safety of each credit institution and the entire banking system.

To overcome difficulties and successfully complete the tasks for 2026, Nguyễn Quốc Hùng, Secretary General of the Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA) proposed that the Government and relevant ministries and agencies effectively implement solutions to develop the long-term capital market, which will help reduce the pressure on credit supply for the banking system.

“It is necessary to continue improving the legal framework for the corporate bond market towards transparency and standardising credit ratings to protect investors, besides developing long-term investors through pension, insurance and investment funds,” Hùng said.

The VNBA also proposes supporting credit institutions in increasing charter capital, considering increasing the foreign ownership ratio, innovating the method of interest rate support from the State budget and expanding the Credit Guarantee Fund for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises.

In addition, Hùng proposed allowing banks to exploit, process and connect financial and non-financial data with the consent of customers and ensuring security and confidentiality, in order to improve the effectiveness of credit scoring and risk management.

Regarding the development of green credit, the VNBA requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to promptly provide guidance on identifying green projects according to regulations, publish a list of approved projects on the ministry's news portal and allow credit institutions to connect and exchange information to effectively implement support policies approved by the Prime Minister and the Politburo. — BIZHUB/VNS