What is easily seen is the imbalance between commitments and the implementation corridor. While banks are trying to find potential customers to push green capital into the market, businesses are struggling due to lack of mortgaged assets and lack of clear criteria to be classified as green projects.
On the other hand, credit institutions themselves cannot disburse strongly when the law is not complete, standards are not unified, and the control mechanism lacks transparency.
At the macro level, the picture of green credit reflects a worth pondering reality: Vietnam is transforming green in the context of an unwomanly "green" legal framework. And this is the biggest knot.
According to statistics from the State Bank, by the end of 2024, environmental protection credit will reach over VND4.28 million billion, accounting for about 27.4% of the total outstanding loans of the entire economy.
This number seems impressive, but when we peel it off, we will see that "green" credit is still very modest, meaning it aims to reduce emissions, promote clean technology, improve resource productivity... still accounting for a very modest proportion.
Even leading credit institutions such as BIDV or Agribank admit: Most of the green capital is still concentrated in large enterprises that are capable of meeting strict requirements on ESG (Environment, Society and Governance) and financial reporting, while hundreds of thousands of smaller enterprises, especially in the agricultural and environmental sectors, are almost left behind.
To solve all these problems, we need to quickly build a national green classification system with a set of specific criteria for each industry and project type to help banks have an objective assessment basis, while creating conditions for businesses to self-determin and proactively plan for conversion.
It is necessary to establish risk sharing mechanisms, such as green credit guarantees, green investment funds or interest rate incentives, to encourage both lenders and borrowers. In particular, there must be a transparent and independent monitoring system to prevent businesses from deliberately labeling projects as green to enjoy incentives.
And finally, a national green credit strategy is needed, similar to comprehensive financial strategies or digital finance, to establish a long-term vision, mobilize international resources, coordinate relevant ministries and especially associated with the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
Green transformation is an irreversible trend. But without the strong support of the State, green capital will forever be just a small stream creating conditions in the middle of the ocean.
