Within the framework of the Project on Green Bank Development in Vietnam adopted at Decision No.1604/QD-NHNN dated August 7th, 2018 by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), on November 8th, 2018 the Banking Strategy Institute, in coordination with the Communication Department and the SBV Office, organized a Symposium entitled "Orientations for Green Bank Development in Vietnam".
Attending the conference were representatives from the SBV's Departments and representatives from state-owned commercial banks, joint stock commercial banks, foreign banks in Vietnam and other credit institutions (CIs). In particular, the conference was attended by experts from the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ).
In the context that Vietnam is facing many environmental challenges such as climate change, natural disasters, droughts, floods, environmental pollution,… the development goals for Vietnam over the next two decades do not just focus on quick growth as was the case in the past, but it has to be green and sustainable, moving towards green growth. This is also the key policy set out by the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam: "Economic restructuring in association with innovation of the growth model from a largely quantitative development to a reasonable mixture between quantitative and qualitative development, both expanding in scale and focusing on improving the quality, efficiency, sustainability; especially, linking economic development with environmental protection, green economy development." Accordingly, the Party and the State have issued many documents and policies to achieve the targets of sustainable economic growth, such as the National Strategy on Green Growth in the period 2011-2020 with a vision to 2050 and the National Action Plan on Green Growth in the period 2014-2020.
In order to successfully implement the National Strategy on Green Growth and heading towards sustainable development, it is necessary to mobilize the resources from the entire society. The banking sector is responsible for actively supporting the economic transition towards green growth. Sustainable growth through the mobilization and financing mechanisms for environmental protection projects is also particularly important, expressed in two basic aspects: (i) Becoming a linkage between organizations and individuals, between those with capital surpluses and those with capital shortages; participating in the risk assessment and management of investment projects, including environmental risks; (ii) The operations of the banks themselves have a direct impact on the environment, through the application of technology towards paperless payment instruments and e-banking…
Speaking at the Symposium, Mr. Pham Xuan Hoe, Deputy Director of the Banking Strategy Institute, stated that the banking sector plays a key role in "greening" the investment capital flows; directing financial resources into green areas; contributing to the conversion of loans toward and the use of loans on environmentally friendly projects. In other words, green credit policies are an important way to achieve energy savings and reducing harmful emissions, driving the economy toward green growth.
The conference was consisted of 2 sessions: Session 1 - Thematic reports on orientations for green bank development in Vietnam as well as the SBV’s policies to encourage green credit development in Vietnam; Session 2 - Exchanges and discussion to answer questions and suggest policy orientations both from the management angle for the State Bank and the practical angle for CIs in their business operations.
VA