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Vietnam Central Bank Warns $76.8 Billion Funding Gap Risks Financial Stability
Vietnam's central bank warned that outstanding dong-denominated credit exceeds deposits in the system by about 2 quadrillion dong, or 76.8 billion dollars, which could pose risks to liquidity, interest rates, and overall financial system stability. The warning came on the same day Prime Minister Le Minh Hung was scheduled to meet with bank executives to accelerate economic expansion to nearly 12 percent in the second half of the year and push full-year 2026 GDP growth into double digits. The central bank said it has limited room to use monetary policy because it faces inflation risks, external volatility, and constraints on funding in the banking system. At the same time, it ordered financial institutions to launch preferential-rate credit programs for SMEs, with interest rates at least 1 percentage point below the average rate, and four large state-owned banks have already begun responding to the measure. Economists warned that pushing the economy to grow at 10 percent or more could lead to higher inflation and financial system fragility, noting that Vietnam previously faced banking and real estate crises from overly rapid credit expansion in 2012 and 2022.