Circular No. 25/2018/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 10/2015/TT-NHNN dated July 22, 2015, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam guiding the implementation of certain contents of Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP dated June 9, 2015, of the Government on credit policies to serve agricultural and rural development.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 10/2015/TT-NHNN dated July 22, 2015, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam guiding the implementation of certain contents of Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP dated June 9, 2015, of the Government on credit policies to serve the development of agriculture and rural areas.

Pursuant to Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP dated June 9, 2015, of the Government on credit policies to serve the development of agriculture and rural areas;

Pursuant to Decree No. 116/2018/NĐ-CP dated September 7, 2018, of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP dated June 9, 2015, of the Government on credit policies to serve the development of agriculture and rural areas;

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

Pursuant to the Law on Credit Institutions dated June 16, 2010 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Law on Credit Institutions dated November 20, 2017;

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam issues this Circular amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 10/2015/TT-NHNN dated July 22, 2015, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam guiding the implementation of certain contents of Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP dated June 9, 2015, of the Government on credit policies to serve the development of agriculture and rural areas.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 10/2015/TT-NHNN dated July 22, 2015, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam guiding the implementation of certain contents of Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP dated June 9, 2015, of the Government on credit policies to serve the development of agriculture and rural areas (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 10/2015/TT-NHNN).

Pursuant to Government Decree No. 16/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 17, 2017 on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Credit for Economic Sectors;

This Circular stipulates the policy of supporting capital for loans; restructuring repayment terms and granting new loans; application forms, procedures, and processes for requesting debt write-offs; grace periods for debts; the maximum deduction ratio for collateral assets of agricultural and rural development loans under Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP dated June 9, 2015, of the Government on credit policies to serve the development of agriculture and rural areas (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP) and Decree No. 116/2018/NĐ-CP dated September 7, 2018, of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 116/2018/NĐ-CP).

2. Clause 2 of Article 2 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

1. Economic organizations conducting foreign exchange trading agency activities; economic organizations conducting foreign currency receipt and payment service provision activities; economic organizations conducting border country currency exchange agency activities.

“Article 1. Scope of application

“2. Borrowers who borrow capital according to Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 2 of Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP (amended and supplemented by Clause 1 of Article 1 of Decree No. 116/2018/NĐ-CP).”

3. Clause 1 of Article 4 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“1. Borrowers specified in Clause 1 of Article 12, Clause 3 of Article 14, and Clause 3 of Article 15 of Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP facing difficulties in repaying loans due to objective and force majeure reasons shall be considered by credit institutions based on the borrower's proposal and the credit institution's assessment of the borrower's ability to repay; the restructuring period and the retention of the loan classification group should be consistent with the borrower's business cycle but the total restructuring period must not exceed the initial loan term as stipulated in the signed credit contract.”

b) After the restructuring period and retention of the loan classification group, if the borrower fails to repay the loan on time and cannot have their repayment period restructured again, the credit institution will classify the borrower's debt according to current regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam regarding asset classification, provisioning levels, risk provisioning methods, and the use of provisions to address risks in the operations of credit institutions and foreign bank branches.

c) Grant new loans to restore production and business activities for borrowers with feasible project plans and business operation schemes.”

Article 4a. Grace Period for Debts

For borrowers who take out loans for planting, caring for, and replanting perennial crops, credit institutions and borrowers may agree on a grace period for principal and interest payments that align with the construction phase of perennial crops. The grace period starts from when the credit institution begins disbursing the loan until the borrower begins repaying the principal and interest, as agreed upon in the credit contract.

5. Article 5

4. Adding Article 4a as follows:

“Article 5. Application Forms, Procedures, and Processes for Requesting Debt Write-offs

Application forms, procedures, and processes for requesting debt write-offs shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 3 of Article 12 of Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP (supplemented by Clause 6 of Article 1 of Decree No. 116/2018/NĐ-CP). Credit institutions are responsible for the accuracy, legality, and validity of the application forms, data, and customer objects requesting debt write-offs.”

6. Amending Clause 2, Clause 3, Clause 4, Clause 5, and adding Clause 6 to Article 7 as follows: shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“2. Issuing guidelines to implement uniformly within the credit institution system:

- Loans for agricultural production linkage in accordance with Clause 4 of Article 14 of Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP (supplemented by Clause 7 of Article 1 of Decree No. 116/2018/NĐ-CP);

- Application forms, procedures, and processes for requesting debt write-offs in accordance with Clause 3 of Article 12 of Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP (supplemented by Clause 6 of Article 1 of Decree No. 116/2018/NĐ-CP). Credit institutions are responsible for the accuracy, legality, and validity of the application forms, data, and customer objects requesting debt write-offs.

3. Proactively coordinating with local authorities at all levels and political-social organizations in disseminating information and promoting credit policies to serve the development of agriculture and rural areas as stipulated in Decree No. 55/2015/NĐ-CP, Decree No. 116/2018/NĐ-CP, and this Circular.

4. Clearly stating the purpose of agricultural and rural development loans in the credit contract, separately tracking loan files for the agricultural and rural sectors.

5. Reporting to the State Bank of Vietnam the outstanding credit balance for the agricultural and rural sectors in accordance with the reporting and statistical system applicable to credit institutions and foreign bank branches; quarterly (before the first day of the next quarter) reporting the situation of restructuring repayment terms and retaining the loan classification group for the agricultural and rural sectors according to the attached form in this Circular.

6. Implementing inspections and supervision within the system to ensure accurate reflection of the status of loans.”

7. Point a of Clause 1 of Article 8 and point b of Clause 4 of Article 8 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

5. Report to the State Bank the credit debt towards the agricultural and rural sectors in accordance with the reporting and statistical system applicable to credit organizations and foreign bank branches; quarterly (before the 15th day of the first month of the following quarter), report on the restructuring of repayment terms and retention of the same loan classification for the agricultural and rural sectors according to the form attached to this Circular.

6. Implement inspection and supervision within the system regarding the restructuring of repayment terms and retention of the same loan classification to ensure accurate reflection of the status of debts.

7. Point a Clause 1 Article 8 and point b Clause 4 Article 8 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"a) Advise the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on coordinating with the Ministry of Finance to examine and handle requests for debt write-offs due to objective reasons, force majeure, and widespread natural disasters and epidemics, as provided for in Clause 2, Clause 3, and Clause 4 of Article 12 of Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Clause 6 of Article 1 of Decree No. 116/2018/ND-CP);"

"b) Take the lead and coordinate with the Department of Finance to inspect, confirm, review, compile files, data, and customer subjects requesting debt write-offs from credit institutions to advise the People's Committee of the province to report to the Prime Minister, the State Bank of Vietnam, and the Ministry of Finance as stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 12 of Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP (supplemented by Clause 6 of Article 1 of Decree No. 116/2018/ND-CP);"

Article 2. Abolish Point d of Clause 4 of Article 8 and Forms 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, and 06 issued together with Circular No. 10/2015/TT-NHNN.

Article 3. Transitional Provisions

For credit contracts signed before this Circular takes effect, credit institutions and customers shall continue to implement the contents of the signed credit contracts in accordance with the laws in effect at the time of signing the contract or amend and supplement the credit contracts in compliance with this Circular.

The Head of the Ministry’s Office, Heads of Departments, Director of the Vietnam Registration Agency, Heads of agencies, units, and individuals related to this Circular shall be responsible for its enforcement.

The Head of the Office, Heads of Departments of Economic Credit, Heads of Units under the State Bank of Vietnam, Governors of the State Bank of Vietnam Branches in provinces and centrally governed cities, Chairmen of Management Boards, Chairmen of Board Members, General Directors (Directors) of credit institutions, and foreign bank branches are responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular.

Article 5. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from December 10, 2018./.