Central bank to accelerate disbursement of social housing loan package: governor

The VND120 trillion (US$5.12 billion) credit package with incentive interest for both developers and buyers is set to boost social housing construction amid a shortage of affordable apartments.

Under the 10-year package, which was launched by the central bank in April, the loan interest rates for them will be 1.5-2% lower than those of commercial banks.

However, the disbursement has been far slower than expected due to the limited supply and inappropriate loans terms, Hong explained, noting that the central bank will urge People’s Committees of cities and provinces to soon announce projects entitled to the package.

The bank will instruct credit institutions to pay more attention to the disbursement, and expand it to commercial banks, Hong said at a question and answer session of the 15th National Assembly in Hanoi.

Over the past time, only 18 out of the 63 People's Committees released the list of participating projects with 53 projects and total loan demand of VND27 trillion. To date, VND105 billion has been disbursed for three in three localities.

According to a Government report, as of the end of September, a total of 46 social housing projects with about 20,210 apartments had been completed in urban areas, while 419 others with 392,635 apartments are under construction.

Regarding cashless payment, Hong stressed that thanks to specific solutions taken by the SBV such as reviewing the legal system, non-cash transactions have been on the rise.

However, the traditional payment habit and the prevalence of high-tech crimes are among the obstacles to cashless payment, she said, adding that the SBV will further review relevant documents, coordinate with agencies to perfect the legal corridor, take solutions to ensure information security and safety for clients, and enhance the communications work.

At the working session, the governor also cleared up questions on credit management and loan shark prevention.