Resolving Obstacles and Enhancing Credit Access for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

On the morning of September 18, the State Bank of Vietnam coordinated with the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to hold a nationwide hybrid (in-person combined with online) conference on enhancing access to credit capital for SMEs. Comrade Pham Duc An, Member of the Party Central Committee and Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, chaired the conference.

Attending the conference at the Phu Tho bridge point were leaders of Region 4 State Bank, commercial banks, and local SMEs.

Leaders of Region 4 State Bank alongside delegates attending the conference at the Phu Tho bridge point.

At the conference, representatives from the State Bank of Vietnam and the Vietnam Association of SMEs provided information regarding mechanisms and policies supporting SMEs under the Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises; general support mechanisms and policies for SMEs, solutions to increase credit access for SMEs; credit policies, products, and results of support solutions implemented by the banking sector for SMEs; as well as the status and results of implementing credit programs targeting economic growth drivers and SMEs.

Overview of the conference.

Over the past period, the State Bank of Vietnam and the system of credit institutions have deployed numerous preferential credit programs and packages for SMEs, focusing on supporting working capital, production investment, trade, and business model transformation. Many banks such as BIDV, Vietcombank, Agribank, VietinBank, SHB... have developed credit products valued at thousands of billions of VND, accompanied by preferential interest rate and banking service policies.

During the 2021–2025 period, lending turnover for SMEs reached over 21.7 million billion VND, averaging more than 4.3 million billion VND per year. As of August 31, 2026, cumulative disbursement turnover since the beginning of the year reached over 3.8 million billion VND; credit balance reached more than 4.1 million billion VND, up 12.37% compared to the end of 2025, higher than the overall credit growth rate of the economy and accounting for approximately 20% of total economy-wide credit balance.

Delegates attending the conference.

As of the reporting time, credit activities in Region 4 continued to maintain growth momentum, with total mobilized capital reaching 529,876 billion VND, up 5.87% compared to the end of 2025; total credit balance reached 613,005 billion VND, an increase of 6.20%.

Notably, enterprise loan balance reached 200,698 billion VND, up 18.90%; of which, SME loan balance reached 105,432 billion VND, up 10.40%. Across the region, 8,347 SMEs currently hold outstanding debt, an increase of 10.54% compared to the end of the previous year.

However, along with credit growth, credit quality presents issues requiring attention as non-performing loans (NPLs) rose to 4,799 billion VND, bringing the overall NPL ratio to 0.78%.

At the conference, delegates exchanged and discussed views to specifically grasp the difficulties, obstacles, and recommendations of SMEs and Associations, proposing solutions to enhance credit access for SMEs.

Duc Anh