As a government policy bank, the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) was established in 2003 to take over the small-scale policy and directed lending programs initially implemented by Vietnam Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (VBARD).

As envisioned, VBSP is a non-profit bank offering full range of financial services to the poor at preferential terms and subsidized rates.

With headquarters in Hanoi, VBSP has 64 provincial branches, 600 district level transaction offices and 8,500 mobile transaction points, with more than 8800 staff and covering 10,914 communes or 99% of the total number of communes (11,000). VBSPs fund sources come from government, capital contribution, borrowings (now mostly from SBV), mandatory deposits from SOCBs, entrusted funds for the poor, state budget and VBSP bonds auctioned in 2009 and early 2010 to fund student loans and carries sovereign guaranty.

Clients, Products and Services

VBSP’s target clients are the household listed as ‘poor’ by the People’s Committee (PC). To ensure integrity and transparency, the list of poor household borrowers are posted for review and validated by the commune people under the principle that since people of the commune knows one another, they are the best filter of the least of borrowers.

VBSP offers 16 types of loan products, and their features are all prescribed by the government, funded from state budget, mandatory deposits of SOCBs, entrusted funds and borrowings. Clients are allowed to borrow for productive business, safe water, electricity and housing. VBSP also finances scholarships for students coming from disadvantageous areas. VBSP’s loan for job creation program targets small businesses, cooperatives, farms, business units for the disabled. The households of migrant workers going abroad under the labor exports program are entitled to borrow as well. In addition, businesses employing former drug addicts, and for especially disadvantaged ethnic minority households are likewise eligible to borrow. VBSP’s target clients are eligible to borrow from all lending programs.