SBV refutes Moody’s assessment of bad debt in Vietnam According to Moody's, bad debt in the Vietnamese banking system accounts for at least 15% of its total assets, an assessment the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) denies.   According to the State Bank of Vietnam, the Vietnamese banking system's bad debt reduce to 3.63% by late December 2013  Moody's Investors Service published a report which declared "Vietnamese banking system outlook" for 2014. Although the overall outlook was negative, some positive signs were noted in the macroeconomic situation. The report calculated that bad debt made up for 15% of total banking assets, a far cry from the SBV's number, which was 4.7% as of October, 2013. Numbers compiled by other international credit rating agencies also assessed bad debt in Vietnam to be higher than the figures reported by the SBV, including Fitch, which also estimated it to be 15%. However, SBV said that the "positive signs" along with the efforts of local banks have helped to ease bad debts. According to the SBV, by the end of 2012, the rate of bad debt rate in the Vietnamese banking system increased to 4.73% in October 2013, and reduced to 3.63% in late December. The state bank said that these numbers were calculated through standard accounting practices and stands by them. The SBV says they have taken measures to deal with bad debt, including debt restructuring to support enterprises and the establishment of the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC). SBV claims that agencies have published different estimates of bad debt due to lack of a uniform standard or measurement, and that the figures reported by management agencies are the least credible, so the information announced by market survey websites should only be used for reference. By Nguyen Hien | dtinews.vn