Banks promote green credit growth

According to a report by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), as of March 2025, 58 credit institutions (CIs) had green outstanding loans, while in 2017, only 15 CIs had green outstanding loans. In the period 2017-2024, the average growth rate of green outstanding loans reached over 21%/year, higher than the general growth rate of outstanding loans of the economy. SBV leaders said that there are currently 57 CIs conducting environmental and social risk assessments with outstanding loans of VND 3.62 million billion, an increase of 15 times compared to 2017. In addition, many banks have published sustainable development reports, increasing accountability and transparency. The growth in the scale of green credit, along with the positive response of banks, has greatly contributed to the goals of green transformation and green growth towards sustainable development of the economy.

Báo Cần Thơ•24/05/2025

Implementing the National Strategy on Green Growth for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, Vietnam needs a huge amount of resources, in which the role of banks is very important in providing credit for investment, production and business and supporting the development of projects that do not harm the environment... According to estimates by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), to achieve green growth goals, Vietnam needs about 20 billion USD per year and for the whole period up to 2040, it is about 368 billion USD. Over the past decade, although green credit growth has been higher than the general credit growth rate of the economy , the green credit market is still not commensurate with the potential and demand for green transformation.

According to the State Bank of Vietnam, as of March 2025, outstanding green credit reached more than VND 704,244 billion, accounting for 4.3% of total outstanding loans of the entire economy, still quite modest compared to the green growth target. Many banks said that the implementation of green credit still has many barriers in terms of legal framework, policies and mechanisms to encourage green credit are not yet complete, risk assessment tools are limited, the payback period of green projects is long, while resource mobilization for green growth has not met expectations... According to the leader of the State Bank of Vietnam, nearly 2 years of implementing the Action Plan of the banking industry to implement the National Strategy on Green Growth for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, although achieving positive results, there are also many difficulties. Outstanding green credit is not high, although there is still much room for growth. Therefore, it is necessary to comprehensively assess the difficulties and obstacles of credit institutions in implementing green credit, identify risks in implementing green credit, determine the subjects, investment portfolio, preferential policies, specific roadmap... so that credit institutions can confidently implement.

Experts also believe that green credit is an important solution to achieve sustainable growth goals. However, to meet the scale of green growth, it is necessary to develop mechanisms, policies and solutions to mobilize domestic and foreign capital to promote the green financial market, especially to encourage private investment in green fields. At the same time, it is necessary to raise awareness of businesses in green investment and production activities so that investment projects are highly effective, serving as a basis for banks to lend.

SONG NGUYEN

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/ngan-hang-thuc-day-tang-truong-tin-dung-xanh-a186816.html