Vietnam banks urged to raise capital by deadline

The State Bank of Vietnam has asked local lenders to make plans to raise their capital this year to meet the government’s minimum requirement, reports the Vietnam Economic Times.

The government requires commercial banks to raise their registered capital to at least VND3 trillion (US$162.5 million) by December this year, which is triple the current minimum level of VND1 trillion.

In an attempt to make sure all lenders meet the requirement, the central bank ordered them to report on their capital raising plans by the end of March. Commercial banks have also been asked to propose their own solutions in case they fail to raise enough capital by the deadline, the newspaper said on Thursday.

A government decree stipulates that if a financial institution is unable to meet the minimum capital requirement set for each period, it will face penalties or have its license revoked.

More than half of partly private banks, joint stock banks and foreign banks in Vietnam have registered capital of less than VND3 trillion, local news website VnExpress reported Friday, citing central bank statistics.

Source: Thanh Nien