The 2025 Vietnam Retail Banking Forum held in Ho Chi Minh City with the theme "Comprehensive digital finance: Data era and digital assets - towards a modern and sustainable financial center". The forum took place in the context of Vietnam entering a new stage of development of the financial industry. This forum also marked the strong mark of the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (Agribank) in the journey of digital transformation and green transformation.
Accordingly, at the forum, the Organizing Committee awarded the Outstanding Vietnamese Bank Award in 2025. Agribank is honored to receive 4 major awards: Outstanding Retail Bank; Outstanding Bank for Green Credit; Bank for the Community and Bank accompanying High-Tech Agriculture.
As for the typical bank in green credit, this is not the first time Agribank has been honored in this category. The Outstanding Bank Award for Green Credit once again affirms Agribank's efforts in joining hands to "green" banking activities. These honors demonstrate Agribank's long-term vision and methodical development strategy in the journey of digital transformation, green transformation, and "greening" credit towards sustainable development.
From "greening" credit sources...
According to World Bank data, by 2023, the scale of the global green credit market will have exceeded the 2,000 billion USD mark. International financial institutions such as ADB, IFC, WB have considered green credit an essential part of their investment strategy. In Vietnam, green credit is no longer a new concept as it has been mentioned in the National Green Growth Strategy, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 43.5% by 2030 compared to the normal scenario (BAU). Since 2012, the Prime Minister has issued a National Strategy on Green Growth for the period 2011 - 2020 and vision to 2050 (Strategy 2011 - 2020) along with an Action Plan for this period. At the same time, during this period, Vietnam also actively participated in implementing international commitments such as the 2030 agenda for sustainable development at the United Nations Summit 2015; Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2016).
In reality, the issue of mobilizing financial resources and investing in green growth has received the attention and close direction of the Government and the Prime Minister. In addition to public investment capital, in the context of the developing and emerging green bond market and new carbon market, green credit capital of the banking system has been playing an important role in promoting activities that bring environmental benefits, developing sustainable production models, contributing to the transformation of a green, low-emission economy.
The State Bank also has many documents to develop green credit at credit institutions. These include Document No. 9050/NHNN-TD dated November 3, 2017 on reporting on the credit granting situation for green areas and assessing environmental and social risks in credit granting activities, there are 12 green areas according to the assessment of the State Bank or Circular 17/2022/TT-NHNN guiding environmental risk management in credit granting activities; Decision 813/QD-NHNN of the State Bank on the High-Tech and Clean Agricultural Lending Program.
Realizing this, Agribank has demonstrated its pioneering role in "greening" credit sources. Agribank has synchronously implemented green credit in areas with great potential but also many environmental risks such as agricultural production, livestock, forestry, irrigation, and bioenergy. As of the second quarter of 2025, Agribank's total outstanding green credit reached VND 28,783.7 billion. Of which, outstanding loans for green agriculture sector are VND 6,543.5 billion; sustainable forestry sector reaches VND 6,953.3 billion; renewable energy and clean energy account for VND 15,107 billion; recycling and reusing of resources sector reaches VND 64.5 billion; and waste treatment and pollution prevention reaches VND 115.5 billion.
Agribank has implemented many green credit packages to support people and businesses in production and business
In particular, in 2024, the State Bank will coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta, directing credit institutions to implement the Project "Sustainable development of one million hectares of high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030" according to Decision 1490/QD-TTg dated November 27, 2024 of the Prime Minister. This is a large project, of great significance to the agricultural sector in the provinces in the Mekong Delta. If 1 million hectares of high-quality and low-emission specialized rice are successfully implemented, the value of the rice industry will increase by 21,000 billion VND per year
As a "Tam Nong" bank, Agribank has carried out its pioneering mission. In the initial pilot phase, Agribank was the main lending bank with a credit package of VND30,000 billion for both short-term and medium-term and long-term. Agribank is committed to focusing maximum resources on prioritizing the implementation of the Preferential Credit Program, together with the banking sector, contributing to the successful and effective implementation of the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality rice according to the Government's policy, bringing economic, social and environmental values, demonstrating Vietnam's commitment to developing green and sustainable agriculture, enhancing Vietnam's prestige and position in the world.
....to pioneer in "creating" green transformation
Not only participating in lending in large projects and projects of national scale, Agribank also develops green credit for individual customers to achieve the goal of "creating" green transformation. Specifically, at the end of 2024, Agribank has allocated VND 10,000 billion to individual customers and VND 30,000 billion to businesses implementing green projects, with a fixed interest rate of only 6%/year for 24 months - a very competitive level in market conditions.
Not stopping there, in the 37 years of establishment and development, Agribank has demonstrated its role and mission of actively cooperating with international financial institutions to implement green projects with large scale and depth. These include the Project to improve the quality and safety of agricultural products and develop a bio-geological program; Coastal resources project for sustainable development; Disaster risk management; Low-carbon agricultural support; Clean water supply and sanitation in rural areas of the Red River Delta; renewable energy development projects such as wind power, solar power; Anti- drought and salinity intrusion program in the Mekong Delta and the Central - Central Highlands. These projects not only help increase climate change adaptation capacity but also contribute to promoting sustainable livelihoods for millions of people in disadvantaged areas.
In particular, Agribank always focuses on perfecting internal mechanisms and policies to promote green credit growth and manage environmental and social risks in credit granting activities. Agribank has issued a document on promoting green credit growth and guiding environmental risk management in credit granting activities. The bank is determined to eliminate credit granting for projects that have the potential to have a major and serious impact on the environment and society.
Not long ago, speaking at the Workshop "Unblocking green credit flows" organized by Lao Dong Newspaper in coordination with the State Bank, Deputy General Director of Agribank Phung Thi Binh shared that since 2017, the unit has implemented many preferential credit programs to support green production. A typical example is the "Clean Agriculture" program in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), with a lending interest rate 0.5 - 1.5 percentage points lower than usual. These programs have been maintained to date, divided into two groups: For individual customers and for corporate customers.
For example, in the 1 million hectare high-quality rice program in the Mekong Delta, we designed a credit package of VND30,000 billion, with an interest rate 1-2% lower if all parties in the chain borrow at the same bank, Deputy General Director Phung Thi Binh emphasized.
In the journey of "creating green transformation" towards sustainable development, not only participating in the "key" field of Tam Nong, Agribank is also present in other areas such as clean energy and renewable energy. The most obvious proof is that Agribank and the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) have signed a co-financing agreement for the TTC Phong Dien Solar Power Plant project, Thua Thien Hue province with a total investment of nearly 1,000 billion VND, designed capacity of 35 MW and electricity output of about 50 million kWh/year. The project started construction in the fourth quarter of 2017 and was put into operation on October 5, 2018. By 2018, Agribank and the Central Power Corporation (EVNCPC) signed a credit contract for investment in the construction of the Central Power Solar Power Plant Project (in Cam An Bac commune, Cam Lam district, Khanh Hoa province) with a total construction investment capital of VND 1,372 billion.
Many experts affirmed that the pioneering role of large banks such as Agribank is very important to shape and spread the practice of green credit throughout the system. From a cautious approach to designing specific credit packages, Agribank is not only gradually affirming its leading role in the green financial flow but also practically participating in the process of "creating" green transformation for the economy.
