On August 29, 2019 in Hanoi, Governor Le Minh Hung of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) had a meeting with Mr. YoonSuk Heun, Governor of the South Korean Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Also attending the meeting were representatives from the SBV’s International Cooperation Department, the Banking Supervision Agency, the Payment Department, the SBV Office, etc.
At the meeting, Governor Le Minh Hung warmly welcomed the FSS delegation to visit and work with the SBV. He shared that, since the establishment of the diplomatic ties, the cooperation between Vietnam and South Korea has been developed dynamically in various fields. In the banking sector, South Korea is in the top group of countries and territories with the most presence of credit institutions in Vietnam, with two 100% foreign-owned banks, 8 branches, 8 representative offices and 5 leasing companies operating in Vietnam. South Korean credit institutions have been operating effectively in compliance with the applicable laws, and have contributed greatly to the development of Vietnam’s economy and the cooperative relations between Vietnam and South Korea.
Governor Le Minh Hung welcomes FSS Governor YoonSuk Heun
In addition to the dynamic operations of the financial institutions, according to the SBV Governor, the authorities of the two countries have also strengthened the comprehensive cooperation relationship. For the cooperation with the FSS, in September 2013, the SBV and the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the FSS, creating the foundation for the establishment of the FSS’s Representative Office in Vietnam. He added that the FSS Office in Hanoi has been performing very well its tasks of promptly providing Vietnamese authorities with information on the cross-border cooperative activities related to financial supervision involving the Korean authorities; updates on the market developments in order to coordinate with the SBV to provide guidance for the Korean credit institutions operating in Vietnam, ensuring that those credit institutions comply with the relevant regulations of both countries. Moreover, the FSS Office in Hanoi has been very active in organizing exchange programs and sharing experience in developing specialized management frameworks for the SBV functional departments. The Seminar on “Fintech Management Framework - Experience from South Korea” has been an example of the effective cooperation between the two sides.
For his part, FSS Governor YoonSuk Heun thanked Governor Le Minh Hung for his hospitality. He emphasized that since the establishment of the diplomatic relations, the two-way trade between Vietnam and South Korea has made significant progresses and been increasing rapidly. Regarding the investment, South Korea has always been one of the 10 most important partners of Vietnam. In the coming time, South Korea would continue to consider Vietnam as the top important partner in Southeast Asia.
Mr. YoonSuk Heun, FSS Governor speaks at the meeting
Governor YoonSuk Heun also provided information about the establishment and operations of the FSS. He expressed his hope that, in the coming time, the cooperative relations between the FSS and Vietnamese authorities would develop further; and committed to providing the needed support in the fields of the SBV’s interest, such as the restructuring of the banking sector, improving Fintech and promoting bilateral cooperation in Fintec, etc.
Exchanging views about the bilateral cooperation related to the restructuring of the banking sector, Governor Le Minh Hung shared that Vietnam’s banking industry has been implementing drastically the Scheme of restructuring the system of credit institutions in collaboration with NPL resolution for the period of 2016–2020. He hoped that the FSS would support the SBV by advising and encouraging Korean potential investors to participate in the restructuring of the credit institutions in Vietnam; sharing experience in strengthening the banking supervision and inspection in accordance with the international practices, as well as experience in building appropriate organizational structure models and operational mechanisms, coordination mechanisms with South Korean Financial Services Commission, the Bank of Korea, the Ministry of Finance of South Korea and other relevant agencies to ensure effective inspection and supervision.
About the bilateral cooperation on Fintech, according to Governor Le Minh Hung, the SBV has established a Steering Committee for Fintech, which is responsible for advising, studying and developing strategies and legal frameworks for the development of Fintech in the banking sector. Recently, the SBV has submitted to the Government the Fintech Regulatory Sandbox for fintech development in the banking industry. The SBV Governor also spoke highly of the FSS’s support in assigning its experts to share experience in the development and application of the regulatory sandbox and fintech management of South Korea with the SBV relevant entities.
On the operations of the Korean banks in Vietnam, the SBV Governor re-affirmed that the SBV will always create most favorable conditions for the Korean credit institutions to operate effectively and efficiently in Vietnam, and expressed his hope that the FSS would coordinate closely with the SBV to monitor and ensure the compliance of the Korean credit institutions. In addition, the SBV also hopes that the FSS will further share its information and experience, and provide training to the SBV entities in several fields of risk management, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing mechanism, etc.
Le Hang