We need to "share the burden" with the banking system.

The aspiration to usher the country into an era of progress with the goal of achieving double-digit GDP growth is placing unprecedented demands on resource mobilization.

In this macroeconomic context, the credit institution system plays the role of the main "lifeline," bearing the mission of supplying capital to the entire economy . However, during discussions at the first session of the 16th National Assembly, delegates all agreed that the banking sector is facing excessive pressure. To ensure sustainable development and protect the safety of the credit system, the urgent task now is to use market mechanisms to redirect credit flow into the real value-creating sector, while simultaneously strongly stimulating the capital market to alleviate pressure on the credit institution system.

"Sharing the burden" with the banking sector to create momentum for double-digit growth.

The paradox of "short-term gains for long-term growth" and the pressure on capital adequacy ratios.

From the perspective of a financial expert, delegate Nguyen Nhu So ( Bac Ninh ) pointed out a double paradox weighing heavily on the credit institution system: The current credit-to-GDP ratio has reached 146%, but in reality, the economy is still constantly "thirsty" for medium and long-term capital.

The root cause of this situation stems from a mismatch in maturities. The capital mobilized by the credit institution system is primarily short-term, yet it is burdened with financing medium- and long-term investment projects of businesses. This constant need to "use short-term funds to finance long-term projects" not only creates enormous pressure on the liquidity of banks but also prevents capital from flowing into high value-added sectors, thus keeping Vietnam's Incremental Capital Output Ratio (ICOR) consistently high. This means the economy has to inject more money, putting greater pressure on banks, but the resulting growth is not commensurate.

Representative Nguyen Hai Nam (Thua Thien Hue ) further clarified the difficulties faced by the banking sector through a comparative international lens. With a credit-to-GDP ratio of approximately 145%, the Vietnamese banking system is under significantly higher pressure than other countries in the region, such as Malaysia or Thailand, where this ratio is only around 110%. An inflated credit-to-GDP ratio not only erodes future credit growth potential but also exposes the banking system to potential risks of bad debt and directly pressures capital adequacy ratios (CAR). Even if we were determined to lower the ICOR to 4.5% to optimize the economy, we would still need an investment equivalent to 40% of GDP (approximately over $200 billion). This enormous amount of capital, if continued to be poured into the credit system, would be an unbearable burden.

Furthermore, commercial banks are currently striving to fulfill socio-political responsibilities in supporting the economy. For example, in early April 2026, the State Bank of Vietnam worked with 46 commercial banks, and these institutions committed to reducing interest rates to support people and businesses. However, in the context of continued pressure on capital mobilization costs, Representative Nguyen Duy Thanh (Ca Mau) argued that for commercial banks to sustainably reduce lending interest rates, they need stronger macroeconomic support, instead of relying solely on sacrificing profit margins.

Unblocking the bond market

Besides the pressure of scale, a greater concern regarding credit quality is the distortion in the structure of capital allocation. A large amount of credit capital, instead of flowing into the manufacturing sector, is being "locked up" in speculative assets.

Representative Le Hoang Anh (Gia Lai) suggested that the government should not use coercive administrative orders, but instead control speculative real estate credit using market-based tools. Specifically, a differentiated mandatory reserve mechanism could be applied to force credit flows to shift towards production and technology. Along with that, tax tools (such as progressive taxes on second homes and land, and fees for slow-developing projects) could be used to curb speculation, forcing land back to its true use value and freeing up space for growth.

From a different approach, to "unleash" the balance sheets of banks, delegate Nguyen Nhu So proposed the formation of a secondary refinancing market through the bold securitization of loans, while simultaneously developing a transparent debt trading market. This is a win-win situation: it helps banks free up outstanding loans to create more "room" for providing new credit, and it also helps control liquidity risk.

Alongside credit restructuring, opening the "valve" of the capital market is seen as a lifeline. Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan emphasized the fundamental principle of modern finance: the money market functions to provide short-term capital, while long-term capital flows mainly through bonds and stocks. To enable the bond market to meet this need, delegate Nguyen Hai Nam suggested perfecting the legal framework (especially Decrees 153, 65, and 08) based on the principle of "not managing too tightly or too loosely."

Furthermore, it is necessary to establish professional investment institutions, even piloting the creation of large-scale national investment funds (like China's CIC or Singapore's GIC) to proactively inject capital into key sectors. Only when the capital market is deep and broad enough will banks be freed from the need to scramble to secure medium- and long-term funding for the economy.

Strengthening fiscal policy and upgrading the stock market to "share the burden" with banks.

Deeply understanding the pressures weighing on the financial and monetary system, the Government has formulated a new and decisive macroeconomic management approach. Speaking before the National Assembly, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang delivered strategic messages directly addressing the challenge of "sharing the burden" with the banking sector in order to create momentum for double-digit growth.

The Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged and highly appreciated the role of the banking sector, affirming that monetary policy in the recent past has been implemented very decisively, making significant contributions to economic growth and playing a crucial role in ensuring stable economic development, especially macroeconomic stability. However, from a practical analysis perspective, the government leader expressed agreement with National Assembly deputies that the room for maneuver in monetary policy has gradually narrowed considerably. It is no longer possible to continue exhausting the banking system with purely loose monetary policies.

The government's orientation is to urgently shift the focus to maximizing the power of fiscal policy. To implement rational and focused fiscal expansion, the government has submitted to the National Assembly a proposal to raise the average budget deficit ratio from 3% of GDP in the previous period to 5% in the 2026-2030 period; at the same time, increasing budget expenditure by 1.9 times, allocating up to 40% to development investment (almost 2.4 times the previous period).

However, the Deputy Prime Minister also acknowledged that fiscal policy always has a time lag. Therefore, while waiting for budgetary resources to take effect, monetary policy remains tasked with operating smoothly to ensure liquidity and provide essential short-term resources for businesses, individuals, and the economy.

To fundamentally address the bottleneck in medium and long-term capital, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang announced an ambitious but necessary goal: to vigorously develop the stock market into a key channel for mobilizing medium and long-term capital. The government is actively directing efforts to raise the stock market capitalization to 120% of GDP by 2028, approaching the standards of developed countries in the region and the world. The ultimate goal of the stock market is to "share the burden with banks, as currently, the medium and long-term capital of businesses is still mainly concentrated in bank capital."

Beyond simply redesigning the financial market structure, the government is proactively creating new momentum by removing obstacles through regulatory mechanisms. The Deputy Prime Minister stated that the government is submitting a resolution to the National Assembly to comprehensively address difficulties for all stalled projects (not limited to land-related issues). If this bottleneck is removed, the economy will immediately be able to mobilize a massive resource of over 3.3 trillion VND to support growth. This enormous amount of capital, once put into circulation, will immediately reduce the pressure on banks to inject new loans, helping them to improve their balance sheets.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/can-chia-lua-cho-he-thong-ngan-hang-181165.html