Fitch Warns of Vietnam Bank Risks as State Pushes Loan Growth

Vietnam’s banks rapid pace of lending is fueling risks, which could increase when the government removes a long-standing credit quota system, Fitch Ratings warned.

“It’s going to accelerate credit growth, which is already very high and, by necessity, leverage, which is already very high,” Willie Tanoto, a senior director in Fitch Ratings’ Asia-Pacific financial institutions team, said in an interview, noting the credit firm is “neutral-to-positive” on the sector’s outlook. “I’ve gotten a lot more concerned in the last six-to-12 months than I have been in the last five years.”