On December 3, 2020, at the headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh had a meeting with Mr. Tim M Evans, Chairman of the Banking Working Group (BWG) for the term of 2020 - 2021, CEO of HSBC Vietnam, and Ms. Natasha Ansell, Citi Country Officer (CCO) of CitiBank in Vietnam, the would-be Chairperson of the BWG for the term of 2021 - 2022.
Also attending the meeting, on the SBV’s side there were leaders from the International Cooperation Department, the Monetary Policy Department, the Payment Department, the Department of Credits for Economic Sectors, the Foreign Exchange Management Department, the Department of Legal Affairs, the SBV Office and the Information Technology Department.
On behalf of the SBV Board of Management, Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh expressed high appreciation for the BWG's interest and support over the past time, reflected through the constructive and valuable inputs for the policy making and implementation of the SBV so far. Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh stated that, in 2020, the SBV has considered the BWG to be an important information channel, reflecting the reality of the market operations from the perspective of foreign banks, foreign bank branches in providing banking products and services in Vietnam. The BWG has proactively exchanged, promptly provided and shared information about the market, responded positively and contributed to the Government's macroeconomic policies and the SBV's monetary policy; and shared international best practices with the SBV. However, due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of activities have not been organized in 2020 since it has been impossible to have foreign experts come to Vietnam, and the BWG has not been able to propose a specific time for a seminar to share experience in cash flow management products.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Tim M Evans expressed his thanks to the Government and the people of Vietnam for having managed to create a safe environment in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of the global impacts of COVID-19, the BWG Chairman made very high evaluation for the SBV's clear and quick directions to support the BWG’s performance. The BWG Chairman also suggested that, in 2021, the SBV should continue to focus on a number of areas related to promoting digital and electronic payments, such as digital signatures, eKYC, etc.
Regarding the proposals of the BWG, Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh shared that the SBV always pays high attention to the comments and feedbacks of the BWG at the direct meetings between the BWG and the relevant entities of the SBV. Exchanging about the coordination mechanism in the coming time, the SBV Deputy Governor requested that the BWG continue to actively discuss and work with the SBV relevant entities to address the existing technical issues. He expressed his hope that the BWG would continue to work closely with the SBV to further share market information and international best practices in areas of common interest such as the post-COVID policies, payments, inspection and supervision, Fintech, digital finance, etc., as well as new products in the banking sector which are not yet available in Vietnam.
Finally, the SBV Deputy Governor congratulated and thanked Mr. Tim M Evans for having fulfilled his duties as BWG Chairman for the past term in spite of many difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also wished Ms. Natasha Ansell, CCO of CitiBank in Vietnam to have a successful term upon assuming the BWG Chair for the second time.
Le Hang