Circular 29/2025/TT-NHNN providing guidance to credit institutions and foreign bank branches on provision of loans to agricultural and rural development

CIRCULAR

Guiding credit institutions and foreign bank branches in providing loans in the field of agriculture and rural areas^[1]

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

Pursuant to Law No. 32/2024/QH15 on Credit Institutions, which is amended and supplemented under Law No. 96/2025/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;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP, on credit policies for agricultural and rural development, which is amended and supplemented under Decree No. 116/2018/ND-CP and Decree No. 156/2025/ND-CP;

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

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam promulgates the Circular guiding credit institutions and foreign bank branches in providing loans in the field of agriculture and rural areas.

Article 1. Scope of regulation

1. This Circular guides credit institutions and foreign bank branches in providing loans in the field of agriculture and rural areas under the Government’s Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP on credit policies for agricultural and rural development, as amended and supplemented under Decree No. 116/2018/ND-CP and Decree No. 156/2025/ND-CP.

2. For contents not provided in this Circular, credit institutions and foreign bank branches must comply with relevant legal documents.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches providing loans for agriculture and rural development under Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP, as amended and supplemented under Decree No. 116/2018/ND-CP and Decree No. 156/2025/ND-CP, except the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies and the Vietnam Development Bank (below referred to as credit institutions).

2. Clients that borrow loans under Clauses 2 and 3, Article 2 of Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP, as amended and supplemented under Decree No. 116/2018/ND-CP and Decree No. 156/2025/ND-CP (below referred to as clients).

3. State management agencies and other related organizations and individuals in the course of implementation of this Circular.

Article 3. Debt rescheduling for clients encountering difficulties due to objective causes or force majeure events

1. In case a client encounters difficulties due to objective causes or force majeure events as specified in Clause 12, Article 3 and Clause 1, Article 12 of Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP, as amended and supplemented under Decree No. 116/2018/ND-CP and Decree No. 156/2025/ND-CP, as specifically determined on a case-by-case basis by a credit institution and the client (below referred to as specific objective causes or force majeure events), the credit institution shall consider and decide on debt rescheduling for the outstanding principal and/or interest; and maintain the debt classification for the debts of which the outstanding principal and/or interest is rescheduled under the regulations applicable at the nearest time preceding the debt restructuring under this Circular, based on the client’s request, the credit institution’s financial capacity, and ensuring compliance with the following regulations:

a/ The outstanding principal arises before or during the period of occurrence of the specific objective causes or force majeure events;

b/ The outstanding principal and interest of each repayment term of the debt eligible for rescheduling are not yet due or are overdue for no more than 10 (ten) days from the agreed due date for repayment;

c/ The client is assessed by the credit institution as having encountered difficulties and being unable to repay the principal and/or interest on time as agreed due to specific objective causes or force majeure events but is capable of fully repaying the principal and/or interest within the rescheduled repayment period;

d/ The number of rescheduling a debt under this Circular is not limited but the total duration of rescheduling for the same specific objective causes or force majeure events must not exceed:

i/ Twelve months from the due date of each outstanding principal/interest eligible for debt rescheduling, for short-term loans; or,

ii/ Thirty-six months from the due date of each outstanding principal/interest eligible for debt rescheduling, for medium- and long-term loans;

The due date of each outstanding principal/interest eligible for debt rescheduling specified at this Point shall be determined based on the repayment term or repayment period as agreed at the time immediately preceding the first time of debt restructuring under this Circular for the same specific objective causes or force majeure events.

2. In case a debt for which the repayment period has been rescheduled under other regulations meets the conditions specified in this Circular, the credit institution may consider rescheduling the repayment period for such debt under this Circular.

Article 4. Grace period

For a loan borrowed for the purposes of planting, cultivation or replanting of perennial crops, the credit institution and the client shall reach an agreement on a grace period for principal and/or interest repayment appropriate to the development phase of perennial crops. The grace period shall be counted from the date on which the credit institution begins disbursing the loan to the date on which the client begins paying the principal and/or interest, as agreed in the credit agreement.

Article 5. Maximum collateral haircut

The maximum haircut in collateral of loans in the field of agriculture and rural areas shall be equal to the maximum collateral haircut under the Government’s regulations on the rates and methods for risk provisioning, and the use of provisions for risk handling in the operations of credit institutions and foreign bank branches.

Article 6. Responsibilities of credit institutions

1. Credit institutions shall determine and state the purpose of loans for agricultural and rural development in loan agreements or credit contracts.

2. Credit institutions shall issue internal regulations to ensure uniform implementation throughout their systems with respect to:

a/ Debt rescheduling under this Circular, specifying the following contents:

i/ Criteria for determining clients and the outstanding principal of debts eligible for rescheduling under this Circular;

ii/ Order, procedures, assignment, decentralization, tasks and responsibilities of each individual and unit in the implementation of debt rescheduling under this Circular, adhering to the principle that the individuals or units deciding on debt rescheduling are not those approving credit extension, except cases in which credit extension is approved by the Board of Directors, the Board of Members, Chief Executive Officer, or the parent bank (for foreign bank branches). In case credit extension and debt rescheduling are carried out through a council-based mechanism, the chairperson of the council approving debt rescheduling must not be the chairperson of the council approving credit extension, and at least two-thirds of the members of the council approving debt rescheduling must not be members of the credit extension approval council;

iii/ The frequency of reviewing and assessing the client’s debt payment capacity after debt restructuring; and the monitoring, inspection, control and supervision of debt restructuring under this Circular;

b/ Related-party lending in agricultural production under Clause 4, Article 14 of Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP, as amended and supplemented under Decree No. 116/2018/ND-CP and Decree No. 156/2025/ND-CP;

c/ Dossiers, order and procedures for requesting debt freezing under Clause 3, Article 12 of Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP, as amended and supplemented under Decree No. 116/2018/ND-CP and Decree No. 156/2025/ND-CP.

3. Credit institutions shall take responsibility for:

a/ Deciding on debt rescheduling as specified in this Circular, carrying out internal examination and control to ensure strict and safe supervision, and preventing and deterring any abuse of debt restructuring for personal gain;

b/ The completeness, lawfulness and validity of dossiers and data, and the eligibility of clients requesting debt freezing.

4. Based on this Circular and other relevant legal regulations, within 10 (ten) working days after credit institutions issue, amend or supplement their internal regulations as specified in Clause 2 of this Article:

a/ Credit institutions shall submit their internal regulations to the State Bank of Vietnam (the Credit Institution Supervision Agency), except the case specified at Point b of this Clause;

b/ Credit institutions subject to micro-prudential inspection and supervision by regional branches of the State Bank of Vietnam shall submit their internal regulations to such regional branches of the State Bank of Vietnam.

5. Credit institutions shall report to the State Bank of Vietnam on outstanding credit balances in the field of agriculture and rural areas in accordance with regulations on statistical reporting regimes applicable to credit institutions and foreign bank branches; and submit quarterly reports on debt rescheduling (before the 15^th of the month following the reporting quarter), which shall be made according to the form provided in the Appendix to this Circular.

Article 7. Responsibilities of units under the State Bank of Vietnam

1. Responsibilities of the Department of Credit for Economic Sectors

a/ To monitor, urge and review reporting forms of credit institutions (excluding people’s credit funds) in accordance with this Circular;

b/ To act as the focal point in advising the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam for consideration and handling of requests for debt freezing under Articles 12, 14, 15 and 15a of Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP, as amended and supplemented under Decree No. 116/2018/ND-CP and Decree No. 156/2025/ND-CP;

c/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant units in, advising the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam for handling problems arising in the course of implementation of this Circular.

2. Responsibilities of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Inspectorate and the Credit Institution Supervision Agency

To carry out inspection and supervision of credit institutions’ compliance with this Circular according to their functions and tasks.

3.  Responsibilities of regional branches of the State Bank of Vietnam

a/ To monitor, urge and review reporting forms of people’s credit funds and branches of credit institutions in areas under their management as specified in this Circular;

b/ To coordinate with the Department of Credit for Economic Sectors in carrying out the order and procedures for requesting debt freezing under Articles 12, 14, 15 and 15a of Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP, as amended and supplemented under Decree No. 116/2018/ND-CP and Decree No. 156/2025/ND-CP;

c/ To carry out inspection and supervision of the compliance with this Circular by people’s credit funds and branches of credit institutions in areas under their management which are subject to their inspection and supervision.

Article 8. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect on November 15, 2025.

2. From the effective date of this Circular, the following circulars cease to be effective:

a/ The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Circular No. 10/2015/TT-NHNN, guiding the implementation of a number of contents of the Government’s Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP of June 9, 2015, on credit policies for agricultural and rural development;

b/ The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Circular No. 25/2018/TT-NHNN, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 10/2015/TT-NHNN, guiding the implementation of a number of contents of the Government’s Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP of June 9, 2015, on credit policies for agricultural and rural development;

3. Heads of units under the State Bank of Vietnam, credit institutions and foreign bank branches shall implement this Circular.-

For the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam
Deputy Governor
NGUYEN NGOC CANH

* The Appendix to this Circular is not translated.