People's credit funds - a "midwife" for rural economic development.

With support from the banking sector and its own efforts to improve, the people's credit fund system in Ha Tinh has been affirming its important role in rural economic development. These small but practical capital flows help people confidently invest, expand their livelihoods, improve their living standards, and build new rural areas in an increasingly sustainable direction.

Economic models flourish thanks to collaborative capital flows.

In the Central region, Ha Tinh is one of the localities with a strong and effective network of People's Credit Funds. With 32 funds operating stably, this system has become an important channel for capital flow, supporting thousands of households to expand production, improve income, and contribute to fulfilling the criteria in building new rural areas.

During a recent business trip to Ha Tinh, we visited the shrimp farming model of Mr. Pham Tuan Anh in Thien Cam commune. Previously, his family faced many difficulties due to a lack of investment capital. Recognizing the favorable natural conditions in the area for shrimp farming, he decided to approach the Nhuong Linh People's Credit Fund to borrow capital to develop his model. In 2017, he received a loan of 400 million VND, which he used to invest in 500 m² of whiteleg shrimp ponds and to expand into the aquaculture feed business...

His efforts, along with the support of the People's Credit Fund, have yielded results beyond expectations. Currently, his family's production and business model generates an annual profit of 400 to 500 million VND, helping Mr. Pham Tuan Anh's family become one of the well-off households in the locality. Mr. Anh shared that without timely capital from the People's Credit Fund, his family would have found it difficult to build such a stable economic model as they have today.

Mr. Pham Tuan Anh's shrimp farming model (far left) in Thien Cam commune is receiving support from the People's Credit Fund.

Also in Thien Cam commune, the story of Mr. Lai The Huong's family illustrates a different development direction from cooperative capital. Owning a plot of land near the Thien Cam beach tourist area but not yet effectively utilizing it, Mr. Huong boldly borrowed 1.5 billion VND from the Nhuong Linh People's Credit Fund to build a 20-room hotel. Thanks to properly exploiting the potential, combined with initial capital support, the hotel model operates very effectively.

According to Mr. Huong, during peak tourist season, the hotel is almost always fully booked. The profit generated is approximately 650 million VND per year, while also providing stable employment for 6 local workers. The success of this model demonstrates the important role of people's credit funds in helping people utilize their existing potential to develop their livelihoods.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu, deputy director of Nhuong Linh People's Credit Fund, in recent years the fund's operations have gradually expanded and strengthened, helping people access banking services more easily, thereby making a practical contribution to poverty reduction, socio-economic development, and ensuring social security in the locality.

People's credit funds have been and continue to contribute to promoting the rural economy of Ha Tinh province.

Strengthening internal capacity and digital transformation for the fund system.

Not only in Ha Tinh but also in many other localities across the country, the People's Credit Fund system is increasingly affirming the role of the cooperative financial model that is "close to the people, serving the people." These funds have leveraged their advantages in mobilizing idle capital from the population to provide loans for production and business, supporting cooperative members, farmers, and small businesses. The capital flow from the People's Credit Funds also contributes to combating illegal lending, giving rural people more safe and suitable financial options.

In parallel with the operations of the People's Credit Funds, the State Bank of Vietnam's Regional Branch 8 is strengthening its inspection and supervision of this system to detect, warn, and promptly handle violations, ensuring safe and transparent operations. Supervision also contributes to protecting the rights of depositors and enhancing public confidence in the cooperative financial model.

Another important supporting force is Co-opBank Ha Tinh. Accordingly, the Ha Tinh branch of Co-opBank has proactively managed capital, supported liquidity, improved the quality of risk warnings, provided operational guidance, and promoted the application of technology in management and operation. Mr. Nguyen Van Trung, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam's Branch 8, highly appreciated the efforts of Co-opBank Ha Tinh in recent times, especially in supporting the stable operation and sustainable development of the People's Credit Fund system in the area. The coordination between Co-opBank and the People's Credit Funds has made a significant contribution to ensuring capital flow for production, business, and social welfare, especially in rural areas.

The effective operation of people's credit funds contributes to the xây dựng nông thôn mới (new rural development) program in localities across the country.

Despite achieving many positive results, the People's Credit Fund system in Ha Tinh still faces some limitations. Internal management, operation, and control at some funds are not yet truly rigorous; capital contributions and withdrawals by members in some places do not comply with regulations. The risk assessment capacity of fund staff is limited, while the requirements for digital transformation are increasingly high. The implementation of modern banking services by People's Credit Funds is still difficult due to the characteristics of customers living in rural areas, the low rate of access to digital technology, and the limited number of IT-skilled personnel at the funds…

Therefore, at the recent 2025 Ha Tinh People's Credit Fund Conference, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Co-opBank, suggested that the People's Credit Fund system in the province should continue to strengthen its organization, improve management and operational capacity; invest in technology; standardize business processes; improve service quality, and proactively innovate to maintain market share and better meet the needs of members... effectively supporting economic development in rural areas.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/quy-tin-dung-nhan-dan-ba-do-cho-phat-trien-kinh-te-nong-thon-175036.html