On March 28, 2019 in Hanoi, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit - GIZ) and the Finance Initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP/FI) organized a workshop on “Principles for Responsible Banking”. The workshop was under the chairmanship of SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh.
Also attending the workshop were Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang, Secretary General of Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA), Mr. Michael Krakowski, Director cum Chief Technical Advisor of the Macroeconomic Reforms/Green Growth Programme of the GIZ, Ms. Yuki Yasui, Deputy Head and Asia Pacific Region Co-ordination Manager at UNEP/FI, specialists from the WWF Singapore, CIMB Malaysia and other international institutions, as well as representatives from the SBV entities, the VNBA and the commercial banks.
The aims of the workshop were to introduce the UNEP/FI Principles for Responsible Banking to the banking community in Vietnam; to exchange experience and operations of sustainable banking; and to receive ideas and comments from the banking community on the draft Principles.
In his opening speech, Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh said that being aware of the key role of the banking sector in the process of transforming the economy into a sustainable development model, the SBV has promulgated several policies and action plans to enhance the support for sustainable development and green growth.
Following the Panel Workshop on Green Banking towards Sustainable Development, and the introduction of a Guiding Manual on Green Banking and Sustainable Development, which were held on May 10, 2018, this Workshop is a new step forward for the SBV and the commercial banks, together with the international specialists to exchange their views about the principles for responsible banking in order to develop a sustainable banking system in Vietnam and to make recommendations on developing a Sustainable Banking Network in line with the UNEP/FI.
Speaking at the Workshop, the SBV Deputy Governor spoke highly of the UNEP/FI’s initiative of developing the Principles for Responsible Banking, which sets orientations for the adjustment of the Global Business Strategy and Banking Governance, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as provides a toolkit to assess the impacts of the banking operations on the society, the environment and climate change, ensuring transparency of the banking operations for sustainable development.
Moreover, Mr. Michael Krakowski, Director cum Chief Technical Advisor of the Macroeconomic Reforms/Green Growth Programme of the GIZ stated that the finance and banking sector in Vietnam has been making significant progress in supporting green growth, climate change response and sustainable development. The commercial banks have also been proactively coming up with ideas, initiatives on green finance and banking, providing credit packages, products and services related to environmental aspects, and gradually applying risk-based governance involving social and environmental risks.
In addition, representatives from the WWF and CIMB also shared their views and experience on issues related to the Principles for Responsible Banking. The implementation of the Principles for Responsible Banking will contribute greatly to the Sustainable Banking Network of UNEP/FI, and thus will also help Vietnam’s banking system to implement the Development Strategy of the Banking Sector until 2025, with vision to 2030, and the Scheme on Green Bank Development recently approved by the Prime Minister and adopted by the SBV Management Board.
Le Hang