National Assembly Chairman: It is necessary to clarify the case of failure to repay loans, what is the responsibility of the bank?

" In case the bank has to share part of the risk, what ratio needs to be determined? There needs to be regulations in the law or the Government needs to guide and issue a decree ," he added.

Specifically, on the morning of November 3, the National Assembly discussed in groups four draft laws amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Public Debt Management; the Law on Insurance Business; the Law on Statistics and the Law on Prices.

Commenting on the Law on Public Debt Management, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man said that the law has created a clear change in public debt management, as government debt is lower than the allowed limit, showing that public debt management is relatively good.

However, it is necessary to amend the Law on Public Debt Management comprehensively, following the simplified procedure at this session to decentralize power in line with related laws, promote administrative procedure reform, and speed up the progress of projects with foreign loans. Especially in the conditions of implementing two-level local government, many ODA projects and foreign loans are located at the commune level.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man. (Photo: National Assembly Media).

Accordingly, the National Assembly Chairman agreed with the proposed amendments and the contents of the bill, aiming to enhance the proactive responsibility of localities and budget implementation. In particular, regarding the allocation of foreign preferential ODA loans, the draft stipulates cases of allocation to provincial People's Committees and public service units that are allowed to re-borrow.

He suggested that the Government strictly regulate the conditions, allocation rates, and assess the impact on the central budget. Because in the future, localities will propose more foreign loans, thereby creating a higher burden of obligations for the central budget, so it is necessary to monitor and impose sanctions to ensure strict management of this loan.

Not to mention, ODA loans must have counterpart capital and government guarantees. For localities with conditions, the arrangement of counterpart funds is convenient, but for localities with difficulties, the central government must support 100%, so it is necessary to carefully regulate the coordination between the central government and local governments in capital allocation.

Regarding the lending method, the draft adds a provision that commercial banks will make loans and not bear credit risks. According to the National Assembly Chairman, it is necessary to carefully assess the impact, because if lending is done but not bearing credit risks, it can lead to "loose" appraisal procedures, borrowers, create great risks and state agencies will have to bear them.

He pointed out that ineffective lending and lack of responsibility in monitoring loans will affect the ability to repay debts and public debt safety. " The biggest fear is that this loan will be used to invest in other things, and banks lack guidance, inspection and supervision ," the National Assembly Chairman emphasized.

Therefore, he suggested that it is necessary to clarify how commercial banks' responsibilities are regulated in the case of non-payment of loans. If banks have to share part of the risk, what percentage should be determined? There should be regulations in the law or the Government should provide guidance in a decree.

The National Assembly Chairman also mentioned the need to completely handle the Can Tho Oncology Hospital project using loans from Hungary.

“The project started in 2009, but due to procedural problems, the project was only really implemented in 2016 and has lasted nearly 9 years. The basic construction is about 80% complete, but the equipment and machinery have been stagnant for the past 4 years,” said the National Assembly Chairman.

He added: “I have inspected many times. Recently, the Prime Minister also inspected and saw moss and algae. Therefore, it is necessary to complete legal procedures to stop this ODA project and switch to using the State budget to support and complete the project, putting this 500-bed hospital into operation in November 2026. The current Oncology Hospital is very crowded and overloaded, patients have to go to Ho Chi Minh City for treatment, which is also overloaded.”

The National Assembly Chairman once again emphasized the need for transparency, publicity, proactiveness and efficiency in the use and management of public debt.

In the context that we are implementing many large projects such as the North-South high-speed railway that requires a large amount of capital, Mr. Man said that it is necessary to review all central and local loans to amend the law accordingly to both develop infrastructure and keep public debt safe, contributing to achieving the double-digit growth target by 2030 and vision to 2045.

PHAM DUY

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/chu-tich-quoc-hoi-can-lam-ro-truong-hop-khong-tra-duoc-no-vay-trach-nhiem-cua-ngan-hang-the-nao-ar984820.html