Circular No. 29/2026/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN on the lending activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for customers.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN

on the lending activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for customers

foreign bank for customers

Pursuant to the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam No. 46/2010/QH12;

Pursuant tothe Law on Credit Institutions No. 32/2024/QH15amended and supplemented by Law No.96/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to Decree No. 26/2025/NĐ-CP of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam;

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

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam promulgates this Circular amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN on the lending activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches for customers.

Article 1. Supplement Clause 3 following Clause 2 of Article 1 of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN

"3. Lending activities mentioned in the restructuring plan of credit institutions under special control approved by the competent authority shall be implemented according to the approved restructuring plan."

Article 2. Amend and supplement Clause 13 of Article 2 of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN which has been supplemented by Point b Clause 1 of Article 1 of Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN

"13. A loan with a small value amount is a loan in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 102 of the Law on Credit Institutions and does not exceed VND 200,000,000 (two hundred million) at people's credit funds, VND 400,000,000 (four hundred million) at other credit institutions."

Article 3. Amend and supplement Point b Clause 6 of Article 8 of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN which has been amended and supplemented by Clause 2 of Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN

"b) Is a loan that has not been extended with additional time for partial or full repayment of principal and/or interest of the agreed repayment period (including cases where there is no change in the number of agreed repayment periods), the loan term remains unchanged; a loan that has not been extended with additional time for repayment of principal and/or interest beyond the agreed loan term."

Article 4. Amend and supplement Clause 4 of Article 18 of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN

"4. Credit institutions and customers agree on the order of debt collection, first principal then interest. For overdue loans, credit institutions collect principal first and interest later."

Article 5. Supplement Point h following Point g Clause 2 of Article 22 of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN

"h) In the case of lending through electronic means, credit institutions specify the specific limit of outstanding loan balance for each customerin compliance with the provisions of the Law on Credit Institutions, this Circular, and relevant laws."

Article 6. Amend and supplement Point a Clause 1 of Article 23 of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN

"a) Information about the lending credit institution and the borrowing customer;"

Article 7. Amend and supplement Point a Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 32b of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN which has been supplemented by Clause 11 of Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN

1. Amend and supplement Point a Clause 1 as follows:

"a) Credit institutions implement customer identification and verification information as required by the State Bank regarding the opening and use of settlement accounts at service providers;"

2. Amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

"2. Customer identification and verification information under Clause 1 of this Article applies to new customers establishing relationships with credit institutions. If a customer has already established a relationship with a credit institution and completed customer identification and verification, the credit institution may decide on measures, forms, and technologies to verify customer identification information for electronic lending purposes consistent with known customer information."

Article 8. Repeal Article 32c and Article 32h of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN as amended by Clause 11 of Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN.

Article 9. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular shall take effect from August 15, 2026.

2. Repeal the following provisions:

a) Clause 5 of Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing certain articles of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on the activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches in lending to customers;

b) Point b of Clause 1 of Article 1 of Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing certain articles of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on the activities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches in lending to customers.

Article 10. Transitional Provisions

For loan agreements and credit contracts concluded before this Circular takes effect, credit institutions and customers shall continue to implement the contents of the loan agreements and credit contracts signed in accordance with the laws at the time of signing such agreements and contracts. In case of amendment or supplementation to the loan agreements and credit contracts, the contents of the amendments or supplements must comply with the provisions of this Circular.

Article 11. Responsibility for Implementation

The heads of units under the State Bank of Vietnam, credit institutions, and foreign bank branches are responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular.

GOVERNOR

To be received by:
- As per Article 11;
- SBV Leadership Board;
- Government Office;
- Ministry of Justice (for verification);
- Official Gazette;

- SBV’s Online Portal;
- File: VP, PC Department, CSTT Department (03).