Circular 29/2026/TT-NHNN amend Circular 39/2016/TT-NHNN provision of loans by credit institutions and foreign bank branches to clients

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN prescribing the provision of loans by credit institutions and foreign bank branches to clients

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

Pursuant to the Law on Credit Institutions No. 32/2024/QH15, amended and supplemented under Law No. 96/2024/QH15;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 26/2025/ND-CP defining 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 hereby promulgates the Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN prescribing the provision of loans by credit institutions and foreign bank branches to clients.

Article 1. To add Clause 3 after Clause 2, Article 1 of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN

“3. Loan provision specified in a restructuring plan for a credit institution placed under special control, as approved by the competent authority, shall be carried out in accordance with the approved restructuring plan.”.

Article 2. To amend and supplement Clause 13, Article 2 of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN, amended and supplemented under Point b, Clause 1, Article 1 of Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN

 “13. A small-value loan means a loan prescribed in Clause 2, Article 102 of the Law on Credit Institutions, which does not exceed VND 200,000,000 (two hundred million Vietnam dong) in the case of people's credit funds, or VND 400,000,000 (four hundred million Vietnam dong) in the case of other credit institutions.”.

Article 3. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 6, Article 8 of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN, amended and supplemented under Clause 2, Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN

“b) The loan has not been subject to an extension of the payment period for part or all of the loan principal and/or interest of an agreed payment term (including where the number of agreed payment terms remains unchanged), without any change to the loan term; and the loan has not been subject to an extension of the payment period for the loan principal and/or interest beyond the agreed loan term.”.

Article 4. To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 18 of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-BTC

“4. A credit institution and clients may agree on the order for recovery of the loan principal and interest.  For overdue debts, the credit institution shall recover the loan principal first and the loan interest later.”.

Article 5. To add Point h after Point g, Clause 2, Article 22 of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN

“h) In case of lending by electronic means, the credit institution shall prescribe specific limits on the outstanding loan balance for each client, in accordance with the Law on Credit Institutions, this Circular and other relevant laws.”.

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

“a) Information on the lending credit institution and the client;”.

Article 7. To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 32b of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN, amended and supplemented under Clause 11, Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN

1. To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 1 as follows:

“a) A credit institution shall identify customers and verify know-your-customer information in the same manner as the identification of customers and verification of know-your-customer information prescribed by the State Bank of Vietnam regarding the opening and use of payment accounts at payment service providers;”.

2. To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. The identification of customers and verification of know-your-customer information specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall apply to individual customers who establish for the first-time relationship with a credit institution.  For customers    who have established the relationship with a credit institution and have undergone customer identification and know-your-customer information verification, the credit institution may decide to apply measures, forms and technologies to verify know-your-customer information serving online lending, ensuring consistency with the known customer information.”.

Article 8. To repeal Article 32c and Article 32h of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN, amended and supplemented under Clause 11, Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN

Article 9. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect from August 24, 2026.

2. To repeal the following provisions:

a) Clause 5, Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN of December 30, 2016, of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, providing for the provision of loans by credit institutions and foreign bank branches to clients;

b) Point b, Clause 1, Article 1 of Circular No. 12/2024/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular 39/2016/TT-NHNN dated December 30, 2016, of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, prescribing the provision of loans by credit institutions and foreign bank branches to clients.

Article 10. Transitional provisions

For loan agreements and credit contracts signed before the effective date of this Circular, credit institutions and clients may continue performing such loan agreements and credit contracts in accordance with legal regulations effective at the time of their signing.  The modification and supplementation, if any, of loan agreements or credit contracts must comply with this Circular.

Article 11. Implementation responsibility

Heads of units under the State Bank of Vietnam, credit institutions, and foreign bank branches shall organize the implementation of this Circular./.