Banks cannot pay cash dividend this year: central bank

This is the second year the central bank is doing so as the Covid-19 pandemic has caused major difficulties for businesses in the last two years.

It said further that cutting expenses and reducing profit targets to enable lowering of rates are key missions for banks this year.

Last year, it lowered policy rates and rewarded banks with higher credit growth caps if they made large cuts in lending interest rates.

Loan interest rate fell by 1.5 percentage points last year, according to Vietcombank Securities.

The SBV also wants banks to prioritize small and medium companies in sectors badly affected by the pandemic but have high chances of recovery.

It has said it will continue to strictly control credit to high-risks sectors such as real estate, securities and build-operate-transfer infrastructure works.