VietNamNet Bridge - A number of leading corporations have lifted the foreign ownership ratio limit after the government issued Decree 60.

VietNamNet Bridge - The National Assembly has approved a resolution on dealing with bad debt, a move expected to help remove the ‘blood clot’ causing congestion to the national economy.

VietNamNet Bridge - While Vietnamese banks pay VND20 million ($900) or so to every worker, foreign banks pay three times higher.

The money market has been seeing unexpected happenings in the last two weeks. Until two weeks ago, the liquidity of the banking system had been in a state of tension because lending was higher than mobilized capital.

 In the first four months of the year, the trade deficit was at quite high at around US$2.8 billion.

VietNamNet Bridge - Bankers have been cautious when asked if their plans to increase charter capital can be fulfilled this year.

Many commercial banks, which have reported profits for Q1 2017, have begun following higher standards in debt classification and provisioning against risks, while Moody’s has upgraded the credit ratings for eight Vietnamese banks.

VietNamNet Bridge - The gold and dollar markets worth tens of billions of dollars have remained stable despite fluctuations in the world market.

VietNamNet Bridge - Many bankers dream of providing wealth management services, especially in an attractive market like Vietnam.  

While the State Bank (SBV) has legalized the use of state money to support the restructuring of weak banks, it has not specified where the government will get the money to pump into the banks.

VietNamNet Bridge - The race of candidates for ‘hot seats’ at commercial banks is heating up as the shareholders’ meeting season has begun.

VietNamNet Bridge - Many Vietnamese banks have reported high growth rates in retail banking in recent years. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Foreign investors will get big benefits if buying "zero dong" banks as the banks have customers and large networks nationwide.

Bank deposit interest rates are on the rise. The VN Index has surpassed the 700 point threshold. The real estate market is warming up. Meanwhile, gold and dollar prices are unpredictable.

VietNamNet Bridge - 2016 was expected to be tough year for the banking sector, but commercial banks all reported considerable increases in profit. Will this occur in 2017?

VietNamNet Bridge - Banks’ finance reports in 2016 show good news and bad news. Most of them had profits higher than the year before, but the number of non-performing loans increased.

The State Bank, while admitting that it is difficult to eliminate cross-ownership in commercial banks, said in many cases, institutions and individuals borrow money from credit institutions to buy bank stakes or contribute capital to banks.

VietNamNet Bridge - Profits from lending still make up a large proportion of banks’ total profits, but bad debt remains a problem.

Kieu hoi (overseas remittances) to Vietnam unexpectedly decreased in 2016, raising concerns among real estate developers as kieu hoi are an important source of capital for the property market.

The central bank has targeted keeping interest rate stable in 2017, however, the market’s developments in the first half of January 2017 show that lending rates are suffering from many pressures.