CIRCULAR

PRESCRIBING LENDING TRANSACTIONS OF CREDIT INSTITUTIONS AND FOREIGN BANK BRANCHES WITH CUSTOMERS

The Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from March 15, 2017, is amended by:

1. The Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN dated June 28, 2023 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

2. The Circular No. 10/2023/TT-NHNN dated August 23, 2023 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam terminating effect of some provisions of the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers (as amended by the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN dated June 28, 2023 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam), coming into force from September 01, 2023.

3. The Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN dated June 28, 2024 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

Pursuant to the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam dated June 16, 2010;

Pursuant to the Law on Credits Institutions dated June 16, 2010;

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At the request of the Director of the Monetary Policy Department;

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam hereby promulgates the Circular on lending transactions of credit institutions and/or foreign bank branches with customers.[1]^,[2],[3]

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope and regulated entities

1. This Circular deals with lending transactions of credit institutions and/or foreign bank branches (hereinafter referred to as “credit institutions”) with customers.

2. This Circular shall not cover lending transactions between credit institutions.

Article 2. Definitions

For the purposes of this Circular, the terms used herein are construed as follows:

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2. Lending credit institution means a credit institution established and operating under the Law on Credit Institutions, including:

a) Commercial banks;

b) Cooperative banks;

c) Non-bank credit institutions;

d) Microfinance institutions;

dd) People’s credit funds;

e) Foreign bank branches.

3. Customer performing a borrowing transaction with a credit institution (hereinafter referred to as “borrowing customer”) refers to any legal entity or individual, including:

a) Legal entities established and operating within the territory of Vietnam and/or those established abroad and legally operating within the territory of Vietnam;

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4. Loan for personal or living expenses (consumer loan) refers to a credit institution's granting a loan to an individual customer’s demands for borrowed funds to pay consumption or living expenses for his/her personal or family purposes.

5. Loan for business or other operating purposes (business loan) refers to a credit institution’s granting a loan to a legal entity or individual to meet the demands for borrowed funds other than those referred to in Clause 4 of this Article, including the demands for borrowed funds by that legal entity or individual, and the demands for borrowed funds by a business household or private company of which that individual is the legal owner.

6. Plan to use a borrowed fund is a collection of information about use of the borrowed fund by a customer, including at least the following information:

a) Total fund needed, details of capital constituents of total fund needed (inclusive of the fund borrowed from credit institutions); purposes of fund; fund spending time;

b) Customer’s available sources of debt repayment;

c) [5] The plan or project serving business purpose or living purpose such as house purchase, construction or renovation or receipt of transfer of land use rights for building house.

7. Financial capacity refers to a customer’s capacity with respect to capital, asset or financial resources.

8. Loan term refers to a period of time starting on the day following the day when a credit institution begins to disburse the borrowed fund to a customer and ending on the day when that customer has to repay principal and interest amounts in full as agreed upon between the credit institution and customer. Where the last day of loan term is a holiday or weekly day-off, the next day will be taken as the last day of loan term. If a loan term is not a full day, the provision enshrined in the Civil Code on the date of commencement of a term is applied.

9. Repayment period refers to a set period of time constituting the agreed loan term and, at the end of each of these time periods, a customer is obliged to repay loan principal and/or interest amounts in part or in whole to a credit institution.

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a) Adjustment to a repayment period is defined as a credit institution's agreeing to extend the agreed period of repayment of loan principal and/or interest in part or in full (including cases in which there is no change to the number of agreed repayment periods) while the loan term is kept unchanged;

b) Extension of a loan term is defined as a credit institution's agreeing to extend repayment of loan principal and/or interest for a period exceeding the agreed loan term.

11. Overdue principal is composed of:

a) The outstanding amount of principal to become delinquent as prescribed in Article 20 hereof;

b) The outstanding amount of principal on which a customer is delinquent in the event of a credit institution’s termination of a loan or collection of debt prior to the due date as stipulated by Clause 1 Article 21 hereof.

12.[6] Loan for financial offsetting refers to a credit institution’s grant of a loan to a customer to offset that customer’s own funds or funds borrowed from another individual or organization (other than a credit institution) used for paying or covering its costs incurred from a plan or project serving business purpose or living purpose.

13.[7] Small-value loan means a loan which is given as prescribed in clause 2 Article 102 of the Law on Credit Institutions and does not exceed VND 100.000.000 (one hundred million).

14.[8] Related person of a customer means an organization or individual that has a relationship with the customer as prescribed in clause 24 Article 4 the Law on Credit Institutions.

Article 3. Autonomy of a credit institution

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2. A credit institution shall be accorded the right to refuse customer’s demands in violation of regulations hereof and loan agreements.

Article 4. Lending and borrowing rules

1. Lending transactions between a credit institution and a customer shall be performed according to an arrangement between that credit institution and customer and in conformity with regulations laid down herein and other relevant laws, including the legislation on environmental protection.

2.[9] The customer that gets loan from a credit institution shall be bound to properly use the loan amount for the stated purpose, make full repayment of principal and interest amounts, and fees within the repayment period agreed upon with the credit institution.

Article 5. Application of relevant legal instruments

1. Lending operations carried out by a credit institution shall be required to comply with provisions of the Law on Credit Institutions, this Circular and other relevant legislation.

2. With respect to specific lending operations covered by regulations provided in particular documents of the Government, Prime Minister and State Bank of Vietnam, these regulations shall apply; to the extent of whether particular documents of the Government, Prime Minister and State Bank of Vietnam prescribe application of this Circular or contents relating to lending operations are not prescribed in particular documents, relevant provisions set forth in this Circular shall apply. Specific lending operations encompass:

a) Syndicated loan;

b) Loan extended to customers for their outward investments;

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d) Foreign-currency loan extended to resident customers;

dd) Foreign loan extended to, or collection of foreign debt owed by, non-resident customers;

e) Loan offered by people's credit funds or microfinance institutions;

g) Consumer loan extended by finance companies;

h) Other specific loans prescribed by particular documents of the Government, Prime Minister or State Bank of Vietnam.

Article 6. Language usage

1. A loan agreement shall be made either in Vietnamese or both in Vietnamese and other foreign language.

2. With respect to other documents concerning lending operations that use any foreign language, if there is any request of a regulatory authority for translation into Vietnamese, the translation copy must be certified by a competent person of a credit institution, or be legally notarized or authenticated.

Article 7. Eligibility requirements for a loan

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1. If that customer is a legal person, it must have civil capacity in accordance with the civil law jurisdictions. If that customer is a natural person, (s)he must be aged exactly 18 years or older and have full capacity for civil conduct in accordance with the civil law jurisdictions, or must be aged between exactly 15 and nearly 18 years and must not be incapacitated or have restricted capacity for civil conduct as provided by laws.

2. Demonstrate that customer’s demands for a loan to be used for legally accepted purposes.

3.[10] Establish that customer’s feasible plan for use of borrowed fund. For small-value loans, the satisfaction of this condition is not required.

4. Prove the customer’s sound financial capability to repay debt owed.

5.[11] (abrogated).

Article 8: Rejected loan demands [12]

Credit institutions shall not be allowed to approve the following loan demands:

1. Loans used for doing business or investing in sectors or activities prohibited by the Investment Law.

2. Loans used for paying expenses or meeting financial demands of business or investment in sectors or activities prohibited by the Investment Law and other transactions or activities prohibited by laws.

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4. Loans used for buying gold bullion.

5. Loans used for repaying loan debts owed to lending credit institutions, except those used for paying loan interests arising during the construction process which are accounted for in the total construction cost estimate approved by a competent authority in accordance with regulations of law.

6. Loans used for repaying foreign loan debts (excluding foreign loans granted in the form of deferred payment for purchased goods) or repaying loan debts owed to other credit institutions, except for a loan used for making early repayment of an existing loan that meets the following conditions:

a) The term of the new loan does not exceed the remaining term of the old one;

b) The old loan has not yet undergone any debt rescheduling.

7. Loans used for sending money to deposit accounts.

8.[13] Loans used for making capital contribution to, buying or receiving transfer of stakes of a limited liability company or a partnership, or shares of a joint-stock company that is not yet listed on the securities market or registered for trading on the Upcom system.

9.[14] Loans used for making capital contributions under capital contribution contracts, investment cooperation contracts or business cooperation contracts for executing investment projects that are unfit for sale or for business operation as prescribed by laws when the credit institution issues its lending decision.

10.[15] Loans used for financial offsetting purposes, except for those meeting the following conditions:

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b) Costs paid using the customer’s funds for executing a business project are costs to be covered using the fund borrowed from the credit institution under the plan to use borrowed fund submitted to the credit institution when applying for a medium-term or long-term loan for executing that business project.

Article 9. Loan application [16]

1. When there is a demand for a loan, a customer must provide the credit institution with the following:

a) Information, data and documents proving the customer’s eligibility for such loan as prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular, and others as referred to in the credit institution’s instructions;

b) Information on the customer’s related person in the case prescribed in clause 2 of this Article.

Information on a related person that is an individual includes: full name; personal identification number; nationality, number, date of issue and issuing authority of passport, for a foreigner; relationship with the customer.

Information on a related person that is an organization includes: name, enterprise ID number, and headquarters address of the enterprise, number of enterprise registration certificate or another document of equivalent legal effect, legal representative and relationship with the customer.

2. Provision of point b clause 1 of this Article applies to the following cases:

a) At the time of submission of an application for loan to a commercial bank, cooperative bank or foreign bank branch, the customer’s total outstanding debt from credit extension (including outstanding debt from the loan for which the customer is applying for) is higher than or equal to 0,1% of the equity of that commercial bank, cooperative bank or foreign bank branch at the end of the last business day;

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c) At the time of submission of an application for loan to a people’s credit fund, the customer’s total outstanding debt from credit extension (including outstanding debt from the loan for which the customer is applying for) is higher than or equal to 1% of the equity of that at the end of the last business day at the end of the last business day;

d) If a credit institution’s equity is a negative number, the abovementioned percentages shall apply to its charter capital or allocated capital, for foreign bank branches.

Article 10. Loan category

A credit institution shall consider granting a decision to offer a loan to a customer which is divided into the following categories:

1. Short-term loan, defined as loans having the maximum loan term of 01 (one) year.

2. Medium-term loan, defined as loans having the loan term between above 01 (one) year and 05 (five) years at the maximum.

3. Long-term loan, defined as loans having the loan term of more than 05 (five) years.

Article 11. Currency units used for extending loans or repaying debts

1. Credit institutions and their customers shall agree on a loan denominated either in Vietnamese dong or another foreign currency unit as appropriate to provisions laid down herein and relevant legislation.

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Article 12. Loan limit

A credit institution shall consult the plan to use the borrowed fund, financial capability of a borrowing customer, credit lines extended to the borrowing customer and available capital source of the credit institution in order to enter into an agreement with the customer on the loan limit.

Article 13. Loan interest rate

1. A credit institution and its customer shall agree on the interest rate depending on capital demands and supplies on the market, loan demands and creditworthiness of customers, unless otherwise stipulated by the State Bank's regulations on the maximum interest rate set forth in Clause 2 of this Article.

2.[18] If the customer has been rated transparent and healthy in its financial status by the credit institution, the credit institution and the customer shall agree on the interest rate on short-term loan in VND which shall not exceed the maximum lending interest rate decided by the State Bank’s Governor over periods of time in order to meet certain demands for borrowed fund as follows:

a) Loans taken out to support the agricultural and rural development sector under the Government’s regulations on credit policies for agricultural and rural development;

b) Loans taken out to implement the export business plan in accordance with the Law on Commerce and its instructional documents;

c) Loans taken out to finance business activities of small and medium-sized enterprises under the Law and the Government’s regulations on support for development of small and medium-sized enterprises;

d) Loans taken out to develop ancillary industries under the Government’s regulations on development of ancillary industries;

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3. Terms and conditions of an agreement on the interest rate shall comprise interest rate levels and methods for calculating the interest rate on a loan. Where the interest rate is not converted into %/year and/or the method for calculating the interest rate based on the actual outstanding amount of debt and time length of maintenance thereof is not applied, the loan agreement must include terms and conditions of the interest rate converted into %/year (one year is calculated as three hundred and sixty five of days) according to the actual outstanding amount of debt and time length of maintenance thereof.

4. If a customer fails to repay or fully repay the agreed amount of loan principal and/or interest at the payment due date, the customer shall be obliged to repay loan interest as prescribed hereunder:

a) The amount of interest on principal is charged at the agreed interest rate in proportion to the period during which repayment of that principal due has not been made;

b) If a customer fails to make due payment of interest as prescribed by Point a of this Clause, that customer must pay late payment interest charged at the interest rate agreed upon between the credit institution and customer which is not allowed to exceed 10%/year interest rate on the outstanding balance of late payment interest in proportion to the period of late payment;

c) Where a debt has become delinquent, the customer owing a delinquent debt must pay interest on the outstanding amount of principal which is overdue in proportion to the period of late payment for which the interest rate charged is not allowed to exceed 150% of the interest rate charged on due repayment that is determined upon the date of such debt becoming delinquent.

5. Where the variable interest rate is applied, a credit institution and customer must enter into an agreement on principles and factors for determination of the variable interest rate, and on the date of adjustment to the loan interest rate. In cases where referring to factors for determination of the variable interest rate results in different loan interest rates, the credit institution shall apply the lowest loan interest rate.

Article 14: Fees related to lending activities

The credit institution and its customer must agree on collection of fees related to lending operations, including:

1. Exit fee paid by a customer for repayment of debt before the due date.

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3. Fee paid for syndicated loan arrangement.

4. Fee paid for a commitment to borrowed fund withdrawal during the period from the date of entry into force of the loan agreement to the date of initial disbursement of borrowed fund.

5. Other fees related to lending operations which are specified in relevant legal documents.

Article 15. Borrowed fund guarantee

1. The credit institution and its customer shall agree on whether or not a security for a borrowed fund is implemented. Agreement on security for the borrowed fund between the credit institution and its customer must conform to regulations of the laws on security and relevant legislation.

2. The credit institution shall make its decision on and bear responsibility for any unsecured loan.

3. The customer and guarantor must liaise with the credit institution to treat assets pledged as collateral for loans when there are sufficient grounds for such treatment under terms and conditions of loan agreements, loan guarantee contracts, laws and regulations.

Article 16. Provision of information

1. The credit institution shall be responsible for providing the customer with all necessary information before establishment of a loan agreement, including such information as loan interest rate, principles and factors for determination of interest rate, date of determination of interest rate in case of application of variable interest rate; interest rate charged for overdue principal; interest rate charged for interest of which payment is late; method for calculation of loan interest rate; type and amount of loan fee; criteria for classifying borrowing customers by loan interest rates as referred to in Clause 2 Article 13 hereof.

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a) Those prescribed in clause 1 Article 9 hereof;

b) Report representing use of loan amount, and information, data and documents evidencing that the loan amount is properly used to serve the purpose defined in the loan agreement;

c) Information, data and documents on the security for the loan if this is included in the loan agreement between the credit institution and the customer.

Article 17. Assessment of loan application and grant of decision to offer a loan

1. The credit institution shall assess customer’s ability to satisfy loan requirements as prescribed by Article 7 hereof in order to consider granting a decision to offer a loan. In the course of such assessment, the credit institution can use the internal credit rating system associated with information available at the National Credit Information Center of Vietnam and other communications channels.

2. The credit institution must establish loan approval procedures according to the principle of assignment of responsibilities in the assessment and decision-making stages.

3. In the event of refusal to offer a loan, the credit institution shall notify the customer submitting loan application of reasons for such rejection.

Article 18. Repayment of loan principal and interest

1. The credit institution and its customer must agree on the period of loan principal and interest repayment in either of the following manners:

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b) Same period of repayment of loan principal and interest.

2. The credit institution and its customer shall agree on repayment of debt prior to the due date.

3. Where the customer is unable to make due repayment of principal and/or interest in part or in full, the credit institution shall consider approving the debt scheduling as provided by Article 19, or delinquency of such debt in accordance with Article 20 hereof. The credit institution and its customer shall agree on the interest rate charged for the overdue debt mentioned above in compliance with provisions of Clause 4 Article 13 hereof.

4.[20] The credit institution and its customer must agree on the priority order for collection of principal and interest amounts. With respect to a loan overdue, the credit institution shall observe the order in which collection of principal amount will take priority over that of interest amount. With respect to a loan for which one or some payments are past due, the credit institution shall collect debts according to this order: overdue principal amount, unpaid interest on overdue principal amount, principal amount due, and interest on the principal amount which is not paid when due.

Article 19. Debt rescheduling

The credit institution shall consider deciding whether the debt rescheduling is necessary at the customer’s request and depending on the financial capability of that credit institution and results of assessment of the customer's capability to repay debt as prescribed hereunder:

1. If the customer is incapable of making due repayment of loan principal and/or interest, and is rated by the credit institution as having capacity for fully repaying loan principal and/or interest within the adjusted repayment period, the credit institution shall consider adjusting the period of repayment of that principal and/or interest as appropriate to the customer's source of financing for debt repayment without prejudice to the loan term.

2. If the customer is incapable of paying off loan principal and/or interest in full within the agreed loan term, and is rated by the credit institution as having capacity for fully repaying loan principal and/or interest within a specified period of time following the said loan term, the credit institution shall consider extending the period of debt repayment as appropriate to the customer’s source of financing for such debt repayment.

3. The debt rescheduling shall be performed prior to or within a period of 10 (ten) days from the agreed date on which debt repayment is due.

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The credit institution shall perform delinquency procedures for the principal amount of which repayment is not made by the agreed due date and rescheduling is not accepted by the credit institution; notify the customer of such delinquency. That notification shall include at least the following contents: outstanding amount of overdue principal, time of delinquency of such debt and interest rate charged for that overdue principal amount.

Article 21. Loan termination, debt treatment, loan interest or fee exemption or reduction

1. The credit institution shall be accorded the right to terminate a loan and collect debt prior to the payment due date under terms and conditions of a loan agreement when it has established that the customer provided unauthentic information or violated terms and conditions of a loan agreement and/or loan guarantee contract. Upon terminating a loan and recovering debt prior to the agreed due date, the credit institution shall notify the customer of such loan termination and early debt recovery. The minimum contents of such notification include the date of loan termination and debt collection prior to the due date, the principal amount to be recovered prior to the due date; deadline for repayment of principal amount to be recovered prior to the due date, date of debt delinquency and interest rate applied to the outstanding amount of principal to be recovered prior to the due date.

2. Where the customer fails to make repayment of debt due, the credit institution shall be entitled to apply methods for debt recovery under terms and conditions of a loan agreement, loan guarantee contract and regulations of relevant laws. If the amount of money obtained after application of methods for debt recovery is not adequate to fulfill obligations to pay debt owed to the credit institution, the customer shall keep on assuming responsibility for paying off loan principal and interest in full to the credit institution.

3. Where the customer or guarantor is affected by the court’s decision to open the bankruptcy proceedings or declaration of bankruptcy, the credit institution's recovery of debt owed by the customer and guarantor shall be carried out under regulations of the law on bankruptcy.

4. The credit institution shall have the right to decide to offer the customer loan interest or fee exemption or reduction in accordance with internal rules of the credit institution.

Article 22. Internal rules

1.[21] Subject to the provisions of the Law on Credit Institutions, this Circular and other relevant laws, the credit institution shall issue its internal rules on lending, including regulations on digital lending (if any), and management of loans granted as appropriate to its operational characteristics (hereinafter referred to as “internal rules on lending”).

2. Internal rules on lending of the credit institution shall be implemented in a consistent manner within the entire network of the credit institution and address the following minimum contents:

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b) [23] Procedures for assessing, approving a loan application and deciding to grant a loan, including:

(i) The maximum duration for assessing a loan application and decide to grant a loan; delegation or assignment of rights and responsibilities to each individual or department in loan application assessment, approval and issuance of lending decisions, including those for digital lending operations prescribed in Article 32dd of this Circular (if any); other workloads as part of loan application assessment, approval and lending decision-making procedures;

(ii) Cases in which loans are given for making capital contributions under capital contribution contracts, investment cooperation contracts or business cooperation contracts for executing investment projects;

(iii) [24] In case the loan is used to serve as security for performing an obligation of the customer toward a third party, the lending credit institution shall reach an agreement with the customer on freezing of the loan amount at the lending credit institution in accordance with regulations of law until the customer’s fulfillment of the secured obligation;

c) [25] Procedures for inspection and supervision of loan application, use of borrowed funds and debt repayment by customers, including:

(i) Delegation or assignment of rights and responsibilities to each individual or department for inspection and supervision of loan application, use of borrowed funds and debt repayment by customers;

(ii) In case of loans used for making capital contributions under capital contribution contracts, investment cooperation contracts or business cooperation contracts for executing investment projects, measures for inspecting, supervising and evaluating the customer’s financial status and sources of funding for debt repayment, ensuring the possibility of receiving loan principal and interest amounts in full by the agreed due date, and controlling the customer’s use of borrowed funds for right purposes;

(iii) [26] In case a loan is used to serve as security for performing an obligation of the customer toward a third party, measures for ensuring the recovery of the loan principal amount in case the parties fail to fulfill the secured obligation as agreed;

(iv) [27] For small-value loans, measures for inspection and supervision of the use of borrowed funds for stated purposes and debt repayment by customers, ensuring ability to fully recover the principal and interest amounts on the agreed schedule.

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dd) Loan termination, debt treatment; loan interest rate and fee exemption and reduction;

e) [28] Identification of risks that may arise; regulations on risk management, assessment and control; measures for treatment of risks arising during the lending process (including digital lending process);

g) [29] Control of extension of loans serving the purpose of repaying loan debts owed to the credit institution, repaying foreign loan debts in order to prevent and stop any deviation in reporting on the credit quality. Control of extension of rollover loans and revolving loans in order to manage the customer’s cash flow to assure possibility of recovering loan principal and interest amounts in full by the agreed due date and reliable reporting on the credit quality. Control of extension of loans used for investing in securities; trading real estate; executing investment projects in the form of public-private partnerships; serving demands for large amounts of borrowed funds for living purposes as assessed by the credit institution; loans granted adopting digital lending method.

3. Within a permitted period of 10 (ten) business days from the date of introduction or revision of internal rules on lending activities, microfinance institutions and people's credit funds must submit these rules to the State Bank through its branches located at cities or provinces; and other credit institutions must submit these rules to the State Bank of Vietnam (via Banking Inspection and Supervision Agency).

Article 23. Loan agreement

1. The loan agreement must be made in writing, including the following minimum requirements:

a) Name, address and corporate identity code of the lending credit institution; name, address, number of identification card or citizen identification card or passport of the customer;

b) Loan amount; loan limit for a line of credit loan; provisional credit limit for a provisional line of credit loan; overdraft limit for a current account overdraft facility;

c) Loan purposes;

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dd) Lending method;

e) Loan term; duration to maintain the loan limit for a line of credit loan, effective period of provisional credit limit for a provisional line of credit loan; duration to maintain the overdraft limit for a current account overdraft facility;

g) Agreed lending interest rate and interest rate converted into percent (%)/year which is calculated on the basis of the actual amount outstanding and duration of maintenance thereof as prescribed by Clause 3 Article 13 hereof; principles and factors of determination of interest rate, time of determination thereof in case of application of variable interest rate; interest rate charged on the outstanding amount of overdue principal; interest rate charged on late payment interest; type and amount of loan fee applied;

h) Loan disbursement and use of payment instrument for disbursement of borrowed funds;

i) Loan principal and interest repayment, and priority order of recovery of loan principal and interest; early debt repayment;

k) Debt rescheduling; delinquency of the principal amount that a customer fails to repay at the agreed due date and the credit institution refuses to agree to reschedule; form and contents of notification of such delinquency referred to in Article 20 hereof;

l) Responsibilities of a customer for cooperating with the credit institution and providing documents regarding a loan in order for the credit institution to assess application for and grant a decision to offer a loan, inspect and supervise use of borrowed fund and debt repayment of the customer;

m) Cases of loan termination; collection of debt prior to the due date; delinquency of the principal amount that the customer fails to repay prior to the due date in the event of the credit institution's loan termination or collection of debt prior to the due date; form and contents of notification of thereof as prescribed by Clause 1 Article 21 hereof;

n) Loan debt treatment; penalty for loan default and compensation for any loss incurred; rights and liabilities of parties involved;

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2. In addition to provisions set forth in Clause 1 of this Article, parties can agree on other terms and conditions in compliance with provisions of this Circular and relevant laws.

3. The loan agreement referred to in Clause 1 and 2 of this Article shall be established in the form of either a specific loan arrangement, or both framework and specific arrangement.

4. Where using contract templates or general terms and conditions during conclusion of a loan agreement, the credit institution shall be obliged to:

a) make a public notice of such contract templates and general contractual terms and conditions regarding lending activities at its office, and make posts on its website;

b) [30] provide adequate information on the standard form contract or contract containing general terms and conditions for the customer before entering into the loan agreement, and obtain the customer’s confirmation that the credit institution has already provided all necessary information.

Article 24. Inspection of use of loan amounts[31]

1. The customer is obliged to properly use the borrowed fund for the stated purpose, and fully repay the principal and interest amounts, and fees on the agreed-upon schedule; submit report on use of borrowed fund, and provide information, data and documents evidencing that the borrowed fund is properly used to serve the loan purpose.

2. The credit institution is entitled and obliged to carry out inspection and supervision of use of borrowed fund and debt repayment by their customers as prescribed in clause 1 Article 102 of the Law on Credit Institutions; is entitled to request their customers to submit reports on use of borrowed funds and provide information, data and documents evidencing that the borrowed fund is properly used to serve the loan purpose.

3. For small-value loans, credit institutions must adopt measures for inspection and supervision of use of borrowed funds for stated purposes and debt repayment by their customers, ensuring ability to fully recover the principal and interest amounts on the agreed schedule.

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1. The credit institution and its customer shall be allowed to agree on penalty and compensation in accordance with laws in the event that either the credit institution or the customer defaults on a loan agreement, unless otherwise stipulated by Clause 4 Article 13 hereof.

2. The credit institution and its customer can agree on whether the defaulting party is only subject to a penalty for violation without being held liable for a compensation for loss incurred or both of these actions. Where the credit institution and its customer have mutually agreed on a penalty for violation instead of both of these actions, the defaulting party shall only be subject to the penalty for violation.

Article 26. Other provisions

In the course of extending a loan, the credit institution shall assume the following responsibilities:

1.[32] Comply with regulations on cases of loan rejection, restriction and limitation as referred to in the Law on Credit Institutions, and the State Bank’s regulations on prudential limits or ratios for operations of credit institutions.

2.[33] Use payment facilities for disbursement of borrowed funds in accordance with the State Bank’s regulations on methods for disbursement of funds lent by credit institutions to their customers.

3.[34] Classify risks associated with lending operations, set aside and use provisions for such risks in accordance with regulations of law.

4. Carry out recording of accounting entries of and prepare statistical reports on lending transactions in accordance with applicable laws on bookkeeping and statistical reporting regime of credit institutions.

5.[35] In case a loan is used to serve as security for performing an obligation of the customer toward a third party, the lending credit institution shall reach an agreement with the customer on freezing of the loan amount at the lending credit institution in accordance with regulations of law until the customer’s fulfillment of the secured obligation.

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7.[37] Credit institutions must request their customers to provide documents and data evidencing their feasible plans for use of borrowed fund, financial capability, and lawful loan purposes before deciding to grant loans, except small-value loans.

For small-value loans, the credit institution must obtain at least information on lawful loan purposes and the customer’s financial capability before deciding to grant loans.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Section 1. BUSINESS LOAN

Article 27. Lending methods

The credit institution shall agree with its customer on application of the following lending methods:

1. Syndicated loan: At least two credit institutions are together offering a loan to a customer for the purpose of implementing one fund borrowing plan or project.

3. Loan for crop season interval: The credit institution extends a loan to a customer in order to cultivate or raise seasonal plants or livestock used in the next production cycle within a given year, or plants of which roots are retained and industrial crops which are annually harvested. Accordingly, the credit institution and its customer shall agree that the outstanding amount of debt existing in the previous production cycle can be used for the following production cycle, but shall not be allowed to exceed the time length of 02 consecutive production cycles.

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5.[40] Temporary line of credit loan: The credit institution undertakes to grant loans to its customer up to the agreed temporary credit limit (in addition to the agreed credit limit). The credit institution and its customer shall agree on the validity period of temporary credit limit which is not allowed to exceed 01 (one) year.

6. Current account overdraft facility: The credit institution approves an overdraft limit within which the customer is allowed to spend more money than the amount available in the current account in order to render payment services on that current account. The overdraft limit is maintained within the maximum period of 01 (one) year.

7. Revolving loan: The credit institution and its customer agree to extend a loan to meet the demand for fund used in the business cycle which is less than 01 (one) month and the customer is allowed to use the outstanding amount of principal incurred in the previous business cycle for the following one provided that the loan term remains fewer than 03 (three) months.

8. Rollover loan: The credit institution and its customer agree on a short-term loan under the following conditions:

a) On the payment due date, the customer is entitled to repay debt or extend the period of repayment of part or whole of the outstanding amount of loan principal for another specified time period;

b) Total loan term is not allowed to exceed 12 months from the initial disbursement date and one business cycle;

c) On the date when a loan application is considered, the customer does not incur any bad debt owed to credit institutions;

d) In the process of a rollover loan, the customer owing any bad debt to credit institutions shall not be given any extension of the agreed period of repayment.

9. Other lending methods not mentioned above shall be combined with those referred to in Clause 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of this Article as appropriate to business conditions of the credit institution and loan features.

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1. The credit institution and its customer shall refer to the business cycle, duration of fund recovery and solvency of the customer, source of loan fund and the remaining duration of operation of the credit institution in order to agree on the loan term.

2. The term of a loan offered to a customer that is a legal person established and operated within the territory of Vietnam, or a legal person established abroad and legally operated within the territory of Vietnam shall not exceed the remaining duration of legal operation of that customer, and to a customer that is a foreign citizen residing within the territory of Vietnam, shall not exceed the residual duration of legal residence in Vietnam.

Article 29.[41] (abrogated)

Section 2. CONSUMER LOAN

Article 30. Lending methods

The credit institution shall agree with its customer on application of the following lending methods:

1. The lending methods shall be subject to regulations set forth in Clause 1, 4 and 6 Article 27 hereof.

2. Those other than the aforesaid lending methods shall be combined with the ones referred to in Clause 1 of this Article as appropriate to business conditions of the credit institution and loan features.

Article 31. Loan term

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2. The term of a loan offered to a customer that is a foreign citizen residing within the territory of Vietnam shall not exceed the residual duration of legal residence in Vietnam.

Article 32.[42] (abrogated)

Section 3. DIGITAL LENDING [43]

Article 32a. Digital lending rules

1. Credit institutions shall adopt the digital lending method in a manner that is appropriate to their business conditions and loan features, and ensures security, safety and protection of data messages as well as confidentiality of information in accordance with regulations of laws on anti-money laundering and electronic transactions, the State Bank’s risk management guidelines and other relevant law provisions.

2. The information system used for carrying out digital lending activities must satisfy level-3 or higher-level information system security requirements laid down in the Government’s regulations on security of information systems by classification and the State Bank’s regulations on security of information systems in banking operations.

3. Credit institutions shall store and manage information and data in accordance with regulations of law; information and data must be stored safely, kept confidential, duly backed up and have their adequacy and integrity ensured to facilitate access or use, where necessary, or to serve the inspection, verification and resolution of trace requests, complaints or disputes, or to be provided at the request of competent authorities.

4. Each credit institution shall itself decide to adopt measures, forms and technologies for carry outing digital lending activities, accept all risks that may arise from digital lending, and must meet the following minimum requirements:

a) It has adopted solutions and technologies for ensuring the accuracy, confidentiality and safety during the collection, use and verification of information and data;

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c) It has developed measures for monitoring, identifying, measuring and controlling risks; risk treatment methods;

d) It has assigned responsibilities to each individual or department for performance of digital lending activities and risk management and control.

5. Credit institutions shall consider deciding to carry out digital lending activities as prescribed in Section 3 of this Circular. Relevant provisions of this Circular shall apply to other digital lending-related contents which are not mentioned in Section 3 of this Circular.

Article 32b. Identifying customers, verifying customer's personally identifiable information

1. Each credit institution must adopt appropriate KYC solutions and technologies for identifying its customers and verifying their personally identifiable information during its provision of digital lending services; shall assume responsibility for all risks that may arise, and meet the following minimum requirements:

a) It must ensure the matching between a customer’s personally identifiable information and biometric data (including biological factor/characteristics that are specifically used to identify a person, cannot be forged, and are rarely matched with those of another person such as fingerprints, face, iris, voice and other biometric factors) and corresponding information and biometric data included in documents/data necessary to identify that customer as prescribed by the Law on Anti-Money Laundering and/or as required by the credit institution, or that customer’s personal identity data certified by competent authorities, or included in the citizen identity card database/national population database, or provided by electronic certification service providers in accordance with regulations of the law on electronic identification and authentication, or provided by other credit institutions;

b) It has procedures for managing, controlling and assessing risks, including measures for preventing acts of forging, intervening, altering or falsifying customer’s personally identifiable information during the lending process; measures for checking and verifying customer’s personally identifiable information to ensure that the borrower is the one conducting electronic transaction; technical measures for certifying the identified customer’s consent to the loan agreement. Risk management and control procedures must be regularly reviewed and revised according to updated information and data;

c) It must store and manage personally identifiable information and biometric data of its customers; sounds, images, videos and recordings; telephone numbers used for conducting transactions; and transaction logs used during lending process in an adequate and detailed manner.

2. Provisions on customer identification and verification of customer’s personally identifiable information in Clause 1 of this Article shall apply to individual customers who apply for loans for living purposes and start the relationship with the credit institution. If an individual customer that applies for a loan for living purposes has established a relationship with the credit institution and completed KYC procedures, the credit institution shall be entitled to decide measures, forms and technologies employed for verifying that customer’s personally identifiable information during the digital lending process which should match the known information about that customer.

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The outstanding amount of loans for living purposes given by a credit institution to an individual customer who has completed KYC procedures as prescribed in Article 32b of this Circular shall not exceed VND 100.000.000 (one hundred million).

Article 32d. Loan application

When there is a demand for a loan, a customer must send a credit institution documents/data evidencing its eligibility for such loan as prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular, and others as referred to in the credit institution’s instructions.

Article 32dd. Assessment of loan applications and issuance of lending decisions

The credit institution shall organize assessment and approval of digital loan applications according to the principle of assignment of responsibilities to each individual or department for establishment and operation of the information system used for loan application assessment and lending decision-making stages. The credit institution must adopt mechanisms for determining the individual or department responsible for a risk whenever it arises, and promptly take actions against such a risk so as to ensure its efficient and safe assessment and approval of digital loan applications.

Article 32e. Loan agreement

A loan agreement shall be made in writing. If a loan agreement is made in the form of an electronic contract, it shall comply with regulations of law on electronic transactions. A loan agreement must meet minimum information requirements laid down in Article 23 of this Circular.

Article 32g.[44] (abrogated)

Article 32h. Payment facilities used for disbursement of borrowed funds

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Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION [45] [46] [47]

Article 33. Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from March 15, 2017.

2. As from the date of entry into force of this Circular, the documents listed hereunder shall be repealed:

a) The Decision No. 1627/2001/QD-NHNN dated December 31, 2001 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on introduction of the regulations on credit institutions’ lending transactions with customers;

b) The Decision No. 28/2002/QD-NHNN dated January 11, 2002 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on revision of Article 2 of the Decision No. 1627/2001/QD-NHNN dated December 31, 2001 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on introduction of the regulations on credit institutions’ lending transactions with customers;

c) The Decision No. 127/2005/QD-NHNN dated February 03, 2005 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on revision of several articles of the regulations on credit institutions’ lending transactions with customers issued together with the Decision No. 1627/2001/QD-NHNN dated December 31, 2001 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam;

d) The Decision No. 783/2005/QD-NHNN dated May 31, 2005 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on revision of Clause 6 Article 1 of the Decision No. 127/2005/QD-NHNN dated February 03, 2005 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on revision of several articles of the regulations on credit institutions’ lending transactions with customers issued together with the Decision No. 1627/2001/QD-NHNN dated December 31, 2001 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam;

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e) The Circular No. 05/2011/TT-NHNN dated March 10, 2011 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing collection of loan fees paid by customers to credit institutions and/or foreign bank branches;

g) The Circular No. 33/2011/TT-NHNN dated October 08, 2011 promulgated by the State Bank’s Governor on amending and supplementing the Circular No. 13/2010/TT-NHNN dated May 20, 2010 on providing statutory provisions on prudential ratios for business transactions of credit institutions and regulations for granting loans to customers, issued together with the Decision No. 1627/2001/QD-NHNN dated December 31, 2001 promulgated by the State Bank’s Governor;

h) The Circular No. 08/2014/TT-NHNN dated March 17, 2014 of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing short-term loans denominated in Vietnamese dong which are offered by credit institutions to customers to meet the demand of fund used in certain economic sectors or activities.

Article 34. Transition

If a credit contract is signed before the entry into force of this Circular,

1. The credit institution and its customer shall be allowed to comply with terms and conditions of the credit contract which is signed in accordance with laws and regulations in force at the date of signing of that credit contract, or agree on any revision of that credit contract as appropriate to regulations laid down herein.

2. With respect to application of the method of extending a line of credit loan, provisional line of credit loan or current account overdraft facility, unless the duration of maintenance of a credit or overdraft limit on the current account or the effective period of provisional line of credit is agreed upon in terms and conditions of the credit contract, the credit institution and its customer shall be allowed to continue implementation of terms and conditions of the credit contract signed in accordance with laws and regulations which enter into force on the date of signing of that credit contract under which the duration of maintenance of credit limit, overdraft limit on the current account or the effective period of a provisional line of credit shall not exceed 01 (one) year from the entry into force of this Circular.

Article 35. Implementation organization

1. Setting the internal rules for lending transactions with customers by credit institutions shall be subject to this Circular.

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CERTIFIED BY

PP. GOVERNOR
DEPUTY GOVERNOR




Doan Thai Son

[1] The Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers is promulgated pursuant to:

“The Law on the State Bank of Vietnam dated June 16, 2010;

The Law on Credit Institutions dated June 16, 2010 and the Law on amendments to the Law on Credit Institutions dated November 20, 2017;

The Government's Decree No. 102/2022/ND-CP dated December 12, 2022 prescribing functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV);

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[2] The Circular No. 10/2023/TT-NHNN terminating effect of some provisions of the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers (as amended by the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN dated June 28, 2023 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam) is promulgated pursuant to:

“The Law on the State Bank of Vietnam dated June 16, 2010;

The Law on Credit Institutions dated June 16, 2010 and the Law providing amendments to the Law on Credit Institutions dated November 20, 2017;

The Government's Decree No. 102/2022/ND-CP dated December 12, 2022 prescribing functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV);

And at the request of the Director of the Monetary Policy Department;”

[3] The Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers is promulgated pursuant to:

“The Law on the State Bank of Vietnam dated June 16, 2010;

The Law on Credit Institutions dated January 18, 2024;

The Government's Decree No. 102/2022/ND-CP dated December 12, 2022 prescribing functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV);

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[4] This Clause is amended according to Point a Clause 1 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[5] This Point is amended according to Point a Clause 1 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[6] This Clause is amended according to Point b Clause 1 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[7] This Clause is added according to Point b Clause 1 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[8] This Clause is added according to Point c Clause 1 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[9] This Clause is amended according to Clause 2 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[10] This Clause is amended according to Clause 3 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[11] This Clause is abrogated according to Article 2 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[12] This Point is amended according to Clause 2 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

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[14] This clause ceases to have effect from September 01, 2023 to the effective date of new legislative documents prescribing these matters as prescribed in Article 1 of the Circular No. 10/2023/TT-NHNN terminating effect of some provisions of the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers (as amended by the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN dated June 28, 2023 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam), coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[15] This clause ceases to have effect from September 01, 2023 to the effective date of new legislative documents prescribing these matters as prescribed in Article 1 of the Circular No. 10/2023/TT-NHNN terminating effect of some provisions of the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers (as amended by the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN dated June 28, 2023 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam), coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[16] This Article is amended according to Clause 4 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[17] This Clause is amended according to Clause 3 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[18] This Clause is amended according to Clause 4 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[19] This Clause is amended according to Clause 5 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[20] This Clause is amended according to Clause 5 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[21] This Clause is amended according to Point a Clause 6 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[22] This Point is amended according to Point b Clause 6 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

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[24] This Point is amended according to Point a Clause 6 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[25] This Point is amended according to Point d Clause 6 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[26] This Point is amended according to Point b Clause 6 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[27] This Point is added according to Point c Clause 6 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[28] This Point is amended according to Point dd Clause 6 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[29] This Point is amended according to Point e Clause 6 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[30] This Point is amended according to Clause 7 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[31] This Article is amended according to Clause 7 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[32] This Clause is amended according to Point a Clause 8 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

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[34] This Clause is amended according to Point b Clause 8 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[35] This Clause is added according to Point c Clause 8 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[36] This Clause is added according to Point d Clause 8 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[37] This Clause is added according to Point dd Clause 8 Article 1 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[38] This Clause is amended according to Point a Clause 10 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[39] This Clause is amended according to Point b Clause 10 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[40] This Clause is amended according to Point c Clause 10 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023.

[41] This Article is abrogated according to Article 2 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[42] This Article is abrogated according to Article 2 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

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[44] This Article is abrogated according to Article 2 of the Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024.

[45] Articles 3 and 4 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from September 01, 2023, stipulate as follows:

“Article 3. Responsibility for implementation

The Chief of Office, the Director of the Monetary Policy Department, heads of the State Bank’s affiliated units, and credit institutions are responsible for the implementation of this Circular.

Article 4. Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from September 01, 2023.

2. With regard to a loan agreement or credit contract signed before the effective date of this Circular, the credit institution and its customer shall continue complying with terms and conditions of the loan agreement or credit contract signed in accordance with regulations and laws in force at the date of signing of that loan agreement or credit contract. Any revisions to the signed loan agreement or credit contract must comply with the provisions of this Circular./.

[46] Article 2 and Article 3 of the Circular No. 10/2023/TT-NHNN terminating effect of some provisions of the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers (as amended by the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN dated June 28, 2023 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam), coming into force from September 01, 2023 stipulate as follows:

“Article 2. Effect

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Article 3. Responsibility for implementation

Chief of Office, the Director of the Monetary Policy Department, Heads of units affiliated to the State Bank of Vietnam, Directors of branches of the State Bank of Vietnam in provinces and central-affiliated cities, credit institutions and branches of foreign banks are responsible for the implementation of this Circular./.”

[47] Articles 3 and 4 of the 12/2024/TT-NHNN providing amendments to the Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam prescribing lending transactions of credit institutions and foreign bank branches with customers, coming into force from July 01, 2024, stipulate as follows:

“Article 3. Responsibility for implementation

Chief of Office, the Director of the Monetary Policy Department, Heads of units affiliated to the State Bank of Vietnam, Directors of branches of the State Bank of Vietnam in provinces and central-affiliated cities, credit institutions and branches of foreign banks are responsible for the implementation of this Circular.

Article 4. Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from July 01, 2024.

2. Clause 8, and Point b Clause 9 Article 1 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN are abrogated.

3. With regard to a loan agreement or credit contract signed before the effective date of this Circular, the credit institution and its customer shall continue complying with terms and conditions of the loan agreement or credit contract signed in accordance with regulations and laws in force at the date of signing of that loan agreement or credit contract. Any revisions to the signed loan agreement or credit contract must comply with the provisions of this Circular./.”