During June 27-29, 2025, a Delegation of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) led by Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha attended the 95th Annual General Meeting of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland. The members of the Delegation also included representatives of the International Cooperation Department, the Forecasting and Statistics - Monetary and Financial Stabilization Department, and the SBV Regional Branches No.6 & No.14.
This is the BIS’s most important event in the year, attracting the participation of all of the 63 member central banks and monetary authorities. Right after the Annual Meeting, the delegates received the BIS Annual Economic Report 2025 with the theme of “At a crossroads: policy challenges in a shifting world”. The Report shows that the global economic outlook is facing more challenges due to the major trade policy changes. The BIS identifies three groups of risks that could increase the pressure: low productivity and population ageing; high levels of public debts; and the rapid expansion of the non-bank financial sector.
The SBV delegation presents a token of appreciation to Mr. Agustin Carstens, General Manager of the BIS
Within the framework of the Annual Meeting, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha also attended the 24th BIS Annual Conference. At the Conference, the participants discussed several topics of urgent interest for central banks, including: digitalization and financial innovation; the role of BigTechs in credit supply and payment; the impacts of crypto currencies on the structure of the financial system, etc. In addition, the SBV Deputy Governor also attended the Global Economic Meeting (GEM), together with more than 50 Governors and Deputy Governors from both developed and emerging economies.
On the sidelines of the BIS Annual Meeting, the SBV delegation also had bilateral meetings with the delegations of the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). At the meeting with BCB Governor Gabriel Galipolo, the two sides exchanged and shared experience regarding the organization of the central bank's system. Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha also congratulated Mr. Gabriel Galipolo on his appointment as BCB Governor from January 2025, and expressed his hope that the two central banks would have more opportunities for cooperation and dialogues in the coming time.
At the meeting with Ms. Michele Bullock, Governor of the RBA, the two sides exchanged about the results of cooperation between the two central banks over the past time, and discussed about the preparations for their co-chairing of the Regional Consultative Group for Asia under the Financial Stability Board (FSB) for the 2025-2027 term.
Towards the end of the BIS Annual Meeting, the SBV delegation had a meeting with Mr. Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the BIS, whose office term will officially end on June 30, 2025. At the meeting, on behalf of Governor Nguyen Thi Hong and the SBV, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha thanked Mr. Carstens for his great contributions to the promotion of the cooperation between the BIS and the SBV over the past years. For the global financial and monetary system, Mr. Carstens is regarded as the one who has led the BIS through a period of global economic uncertainties with a strategic vision, promoting the central role of the member central banks, and asserting the BIS’s role as a pillar for the international financial stability.
HY