Viet Nam Bank for Social Policy deputy general director Nguyen Van Ly spoke to the newspaper Nong thon Ngay nay (Countryside Today) newspaper about development strategies.
The Viet Nam Bank for Social Policy has operated for nine years. Can you briefly talk about its performance?
The Government considers the bank as an important tool to realise the Party and State's key policies to reduce poverty and ensure social welfare. The impacts of preferential loans by the bank have increased. During the last nine years, the bank has helped 2.5 million households escape poverty, offered loans to generate jobs for 2.5 million households and loans for 2.8 million students to attend school, plus it has funded the construction of hundreds of thousands of houses and water supply systems. So far, the bank has had 18 programmes offering preferential loans with funds of VND115,000 billion (US$5 billion).
What are the major development strategies of the bank by 2020?
The three major tasks are to strengthen and improve the quality of loan disbursement, to restructure capital sources and financial mechanisms and to improve the bank's administration and management. The most important component of the strategies is the implementation of the bank's restructuring project. Restructuring doesn't mean rearranging structure, but rather to continue raising the effectiveness or the quality of the loans. Our operation mode has been confirmed to be on the right track and is able to meet practical needs.
Under the draft strategy, is there an adjustment for groups who benefit from preferential loans?
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh has asked the bank to be fully aware of the policy for preferential loans which aims to promote manufacturing and improve the living standards of people, especially those who are from ethnic minority groups in disadvantaged areas. The loans also contribute to the implementation of a national programme to develop a new model in rural areas. The bank targets to increase the rate of access of poor households to preferential bank loans. Levels of preference would be tailored to suit to each beneficiary group so that the more disadvantaged ones would be given more support. Loans will also contain more incentive factors that relate to procedure, risk management and usage.
Under the strategy, how will the bank solve the bottle-neck in source of capital to provide preferential loans?
To the Social Policy Bank, its major capital is from the State's budget or ODA. In addition, the Government asks State-run commercial banks to deposit at the Social Policy Bank 2 per cent of their mobilised capital. The Government will then compensate the banks to ensure their interests. — VNS