Within the framework of the Bloomberg Businessweek Vietnam forum recently, at a discussion session on the topic "Restructuring capital flows for double-digit growth", Mr. Michal Skalicky, Customer Relations Director at Home Credit Vietnam, said that consumer finance will play a strategic role in the country's "2.0 Innovation" period. According to him, this is both a channel to expand capital access for a large number of people and a tool to promote domestic consumption - one of the important pillars of economic growth.
Promoting a solid consumer base for economic growth
For the past 18 years, Home Credit Vietnam has focused on serving individuals who have just joined the labor market or first accessed financial services. They often do not have a credit history and face many barriers when trying to access the traditional banking system.
When the economy grows, the issue is not how much capital can be mobilized, but how responsibly and comprehensively we implement it, meaning not leaving anyone behind, as well as ensuring that all loans help customers improve," he shared.
In fact, Home Credit has served nearly 18 million customers to date, accounting for a significant market share in the total scale of about 35 million Vietnamese people who have not been fully supported by the banking system. Notably, according to the 2025 business results report, the bad debt ratio (NPL) is still safely maintained at 1.66%, much lower than the industry average, which ensures that borrowers are able to pay.
To do this, Mr. Michal Skalicky emphasized the role of promoting responsible consumption. Providing timely and easily accessible credit helps households stabilize cash flow and maintain purchasing power for essential needs such as transportation, digital access or education... Thanks to this, Home Credit also contributes to increasing demand in the market, supporting manufacturers and retailers, especially in the group of small and medium-sized enterprises, thereby contributing to the sustainable growth of the economy.
In addition, Home Credit focuses on expanding financial access on a large scale. Through data and credit scoring systems supported by technology, businesses can bring new customers into the formal financial system safely, conveniently and quickly.
The "problem" of risk management during growth
Towards the goal of GDP growth of 10% or more in the period 2026-2030, the Ministry of Finance estimates that Vietnam needs up to 1,400 billion USD, equivalent to an average of about 280 billion USD per year. This can be seen as an ambitious figure in the complex geopolitical context.
Exchanging in the discussion session, experts focused on the story of mobilizing financial resources, while Home Credit chose to unlock capital flows through personal consumption.
Mr. Michal Skalicky emphasized that with the characteristic of serving vulnerable customers to economic fluctuations, Home Credit focuses on risk management from before lending to disbursement, ensuring the quality of each loan.
Sharing more on the sidelines of the event, Mr. Michal Skalicky said that in the process of appraising applications, Home Credit applies credit scoring models based on data to assess customers' ability to pay, thereby designing loans suitable for each individual.
And more importantly, after disbursement, ensuring that customers understand their terms, obligations and rights also plays a key role. According to him, financial education and information transparency are not only supporting factors, but also help minimize risks in the long term.
Sustainable growth of the private sector cannot be built on a foundation of heavy debt. At Home Credit, the quality of the investment portfolio and long-term financial health of customers are a measure of our real economic contribution," affirmed the Customer Relations Director of Home Credit Vietnam.
