Several banks have recently presented plans or expressed intention to complete mergers even as the nation continues to speed up the restructuring of credit institutions.

At the April press conference of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on Friday, the non-performing loans of the banking sector by the end of February were announced at VND122 trillion ($5.8 billion), accounting for 3.86 percent of the total debt balance.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A newly-issued circular from the State Bank of Viet Nam would not affect foreign indirect investment (FII) in Viet Nam, according to experts.

VietNamNet Bridge – The State Bank of Viet Nam has issued a circular allowing commercial banks an additional year before applying new, strict debt classification standards.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The official information on VND100 trillion (over US$4.76 billion) credit package for the domestic real estate market may be announced next month.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The number of commercial banks will be cut by a half from 30 currently, the head of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has confirmed.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A series of commercial banks tasted the failure when implementing their plans to raise chartered capital in 2013.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam is moving to legalise bankruptcy for credit institutions, which is seen as a step in creating a more transparent and healthy money system.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Commercial banks are expecting a sharp increase in overseas remittances as 2013 draws to a close, estimating a yearly total approaching US$11 billion.

 Banks are being questioned over the quality of the credit checks after it was revealed that the Truong Ngan Company owed debts to seven different banks while using the same collateral.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has released a document requesting to strengthen the inspection over the banks which offer the lending interest rates lower than deposit interest rates.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) has become the biggest debtor of commercial banks with the total outstanding loans having reached VND144 trillion.

VietNamNet Bridge – Most lawmakers agreed the number of corruption cases brought before the public's eye was merely a drop in the ocean, and current anti-corruption measures were not strict enough to serve as effective deterrents.

 VietNamNet Bridge – A recent trend in the banking and finance industry is that commercial banks are looking to buy finance companies in an attempt to have "special tools" to facilitate their business activities.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The State Bank of Vietnam believes that the number of bank branches and transaction offices is now “bigger than enough.” However, banks still have been trying to set up more branches.

 Vinaconex sells debts in Cam Pha Cement; SBV outlines scheme to stabilise forex, gold rates; Nokia and FPT ink agreement; HCM City economy runs into difficulties; New Zealand to export potatoes to Vietnam

 VietNamNet Bridge – Non-performing loans totalled VND138.98 trillion (US$6 billion) by the end of July, accounting for 4.58 per cent of commercial banks' total loans, according to the latest data from the State Bank of Viet Nam.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The compulsory restructuring of 8 out of the 9 weak banks has completed successfully.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The gold put by the State Bank into auctions has been sold out, which shows the high demand for gold. People tend to hoard more gold when other investment channels get stuck.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The local corporate bond market is seen small compared to other Asian peers, with its outstanding balances totaling some VND70 trillion or only about 2.47% of the nation’s gross domestic product in 2012,