On March 7, at the headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha had a meeting with Ms. Michele Wee, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam Ltd., Chairwoman of the Banking Working Group (BWG), together with other members of the BWG.
An overview of the meeting.
At the meeting, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha made high evaluation for the active contributions of the BWG to the SBV in the development of the relevant legal documents, as well as in addressing the specific technical issues in 2022. According to the SBV Deputy Governor, the comments and feedbacks of the BWG had been an important channel for the SBV’s reference in the formulation and issuance of new policies, ensuring alignment with the actual situation and the international practices.
Besides, the SBV Deputy Governor also acknowledged the effective and close coordination between the SBV and the BWG through the working sessions, dialogues and document exchanges, thereby any arising issues or difficulties could be addressed promptly.
One of the most remarkable achievements in the cooperation between the SBV and the BWG in 2022 was the successful organization of the Conference on Mobilizing Resources for Green and Sustainable Development Goals, which had recognized the efforts of the SBV and the effective collaboration of the BWG in assisting the Government to mobilize the valuable resources from the international financial institutions and the foreign banks for the implementation of Vietnam’s commitments made at the COP26.
In addition, the SBV also highly acknowledged the close and effective cooperation of the BWG, as well as the support of other working groups at the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) through the coordination of the BWG.
Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha speaks at the meeting.
Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha hoped that the BWG could continue to closely coordinate with the SBV to address the remaining issues from 2022, as well as any newly arising issues in 2023; implement successfully the 2023 Work Plan as agreed between the SBV and the BWG; consider and support the implementation of a number of key tasks of the banking sector as stated in the Development Strategy of Vietnam Banking Sector to 2025, with Orientations to 2030, and the Action Plan of the Banking Sector for the 2021-2025 Period. Accordingly, the SBV would focus on the following priority activities: (i) reviewing and revising the existing legal regulations to ensure consistency with the market developments; (ii) Digital transformation in the banking sector; (iii) Connecting/coordinating between the finance and banking sector with the enterprises to implement the Government’s Green Growth Strategy, the COP26 commitments, fulfilling the role of the SBV.
For her part, Ms. Michele Wee, Chairwoman of the BWG, expressed her sincere thanks to the SBV for the strong support and the close cooperation in the organization of several policy dialogues between the SBV and the BWG within the framework of the VBF. She also expressed her deep impression with the effective cooperation mechanism between the two sides.
Ms. Michele Wee assessed that, in 2022, the SBV had coordinated strongly with the BWG, listened to the business community to resolve the difficulties, provided guidance for the implementation of the relevant regulations on supporting the foreign credit institutions, aiming at developing a stable and effective financial market in Vietnam. At the same time, the two sides had closely collaborated to strengthen and improve the working mechanism, which had been assessed to be highly proactive, transparent and efficient.
Ms. Michele Wee, Chairwoman of the BWG, speaks at the meeting.
The BWG’s Chairwoman believed that, in 2023, the BWG would continue to receive the close cooperation from the SBV Deputy Governor as well as the SBV entities in order to effectively implement the mutually agreed activities. She also noted the request regarding the BWG’s continued support for the implementation of the key tasks of the banking sector in the future, and confirmed that she would discuss with the other members of the BWG to maximize the BWG’s support for the SBV.
Also at the meeting, Mr. Kang Gew Won, CEO of Shinhan Bank Vietnam, and Mr. Victor Ngo, CEO of the United Overseas Bank (UOB) Vietnam Ltd., two of the members of the BWG’s Executive Committee, expressed their sincere thanks to the SBV for supporting the foreign banks to operate effectively in Vietnam. Shinhan Bank Vietnam and the UOB Vietnam Ltd., as well as other member banks of the BWG, would continue to accompany the SBV in the development of a strong and sustainable financial and banking sector in the future.
Toward the end of the meeting, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha wished Ms. Michele Wee a successful chairwomanship term with the BWG, and wished that the BWG would make more encouraging achievements in the coming time. The SBV Deputy Governor also hoped that the cooperative relationship between the SBV and the BWG would develop more strongly, and the BWG would continue to support Vietnam to attract the needed resources in order to support the SBV in particular and the Government of Vietnam in general in the realization of the green and sustainable development goals, as well as to coordinate with the SBV in the implementation of the priority tasks of the banking sector in the coming time.
Le Hang