On September 19, 2019 at the headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh had a meeting with Mr. Carlos Torres Vila, Chairman of BBVA Group (Spain).
Also attending the meeting, on the SBV’s side, there were representatives from the Payment Department, the Information Technology Department, the Banking Supervision Agency, the SBV Office, and the International Cooperation Department. On the side of BBVA delegation there were Mr. Carlos Gaston, Chief Representative of BBVA Office in Indonesia; Ms. Jennifer Cao, Managing Director of BBVA Business Division.
After welcoming BBVA delegation to visit and work with the SBV, Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh provided some brief information on the development of Vietnam’s banking sector. During the last 10 years, the SBV and the system of credit institutions in Vietnam have continuously implemented the schemes of restructuring the credit institutions, thereby bringing about encouraging results, contributing to the strong development of Vietnam's economy, especially in the context that Vietnam's banking system is continuing to play a crucial role in the financial market, and the main channel of capital mobilization for Vietnam’s economy.
Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh speaks at the meeting
Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh also discussed with the Delegation about the SBV’s views and orientations on the application of financial technologies in the banking activities. Vietnam has a large population with the high percentage of people possessing smartphones (72%); a large number of 3G/4G subscribers with internet connection, a young generation with high preference for technology, and fast increasing income and consumption levels of the people, all of which are favorable conditions for the development of Fintech services. Up to now, the number of Fintech companies has doubled as compared to that of 2016, focusing mainly on payment services such as e-wallets, e-commerce, e-banking, etc. With these great advantages, to encourage the development of Fintech activities, the SBV has issued regulations on payment intermediary services, allowing non-bank institutions to engage in payment activities. The SBV has issued licenses to more than 30 payment intermediary service providers. Besides, the SBV has also encouraged the cooperation between banks and fintech companies, creating a favorable environment for Fintech development through the establishment of the SBV Fintech Steering Committee in early 2017 and the organization of Fintech Challenge Vietnam 2018.
In Vietnam, commercial banks are now making efforts to become digital banks, not only focusing on business optimisation of current processes, but also aiming at making a comprehensive business transformation, creating favorable conditions for banking operations, trade, provision of products and services on a digital platform.
Mr. Carlos Torres Vila, Chairman of BBVA Group.
Expressing his thanks for the useful information from the SBV Deputy Governor, Mr. Carlos Torres Vila, Chairman of BBVA Group, also shared some experience in digital banking development. In Spain, BBVA was the pioneer bank in providing digital banking products and services. He expressed his hopes for further cooperation with Vietnam’s banking industry through a number of activities to enhance the capabilities of the SBV officials through sharing experience in developing a digital banking model as well as the mechanisms, policies and legal frameworks for digital banking operations in Spain, as well as some countries and regions where BBVA is operational.
Le Hang