Co-opbank: Aspiration to become the leading bank in the field of microfinance for the community

Co-opbank: Khát vọng trở thành ngân hàng hàng đầu trong lĩnh vực tài chính vi mô vì cộng đồng

Overview of the Celebration

Promote the role of focal point to support system linkage

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Co-opBank, said that the Central People's Credit Fund, now Co-opBank, was established under Decision 162/QD-NH5 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on June 8, 1995, with the main goal of linking and ensuring the safety of the People's Credit Fund system.

After 30 years of construction and development, under the attention and direction of the Party, the State, the State Bank, and the tireless efforts to overcome all difficulties and challenges of generations of leaders and staff, Co-opBank has now completed its organizational structure, gradually improved the quality of operations, and its network of operations includes the Head Office, 32 Branches and 66 Transaction Offices. Together with nearly 1,200 People's Credit Funds, it has created a convenient credit channel to meet the capital needs for production, business, service development, and life of nearly 2 million members in 57/63 provinces and cities nationwide.

Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Doan Thai Son speaks.

As a bank of the People's Credit Funds, Co-opBank has always actively supported the operations of the People's Credit Fund system, focusing on capital regulation, liquidity support; conducting internal inspections and audits, monitoring, participating in restructuring the People's Credit Funds under the direction of the State Bank, and carrying out banking activities to support the People's Credit Funds to operate safely and effectively.

In particular, in the field of digital transformation, Co-opBank has affirmed its role as a support for the QTDND system. Accordingly, Co.opBank has invested heavily in digital technology platforms, Co-opBank Mobile Banking digital banking application, issued Co-opBank Napas chip cards, connected the interbank payment system to more than 900 QTDND, thereby helping members and customers transfer/receive money conveniently within the system as well as to commercial banks in Vietnam... At the same time, Co-opBank promotes training and supports the implementation of banking products, especially the first three digital platform products exclusively for QTDND, helping QTDND quickly adapt to the modernization trend. A notable achievement is that in 2023, Co-opBank was awarded the Digital Transformation Organization of the Year by the World Association of Credit Unions WOCCU, recognizing its efforts to promote financial inclusion through technology.

Chairman of Co-opBank Board of Directors Nguyen Quoc Cuong speaks

Co-opBank pays special attention to training to improve the capacity of QTDND staff. Through cooperation with the QTDND Association and international organizations, especially the Project "Strengthening the QTDND System" funded by the Canadian Government , Co-opBank has organized dozens of training courses to improve the capacity of internal audit, risk management, and product and service development for 75 QTDND participating in the pilot project, directly contributing to improving the quality of operations of the entire system.

In order to build an increasingly prestigious, professional and unified QTDND system, based on the proposals of QTDNDs and QTDND Associations, Co-opBank has coordinated with the QTDND Association to build a new brand identity for modern QTDNDs, suitable for actual operations, which has received the consensus of QTDNDs to be applied uniformly throughout the system and integrated on application platforms.

Looking back on the 30-year journey, it is a meaningful and proud journey. Co-opBank has continuously grown and developed, operated safely, and is a solid foundation for the development of the People's Credit Fund system. Each stage of Co-opBank's development revolves around a consistent axis: connecting - supporting - developing the People's Credit Fund system, building a modern and humane cooperative finance; at the same time, effectively supporting capital and banking services for the development of people, business households, and cooperatives nationwide.

During its operation, Co-opBank has been honored to receive many noble titles from the State, Government, State Bank of Vietnam and domestic and international organizations. These are clear evidences of Co-opBank's determination and aspiration to "Steadyly reach further" and the tireless efforts of each Co-opBank staff in the 30-year journey of building and developing Co-opBank.

Towards a modern universal bank

Attending and delivering a speech at the ceremony, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Doan Thai Son, on behalf of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and the Board of Directors of the State Bank of Vietnam, commended and congratulated the outstanding achievements that generations of leaders and employees of Co-opBank have achieved over the past 30 years. These achievements have made important contributions to the socio -economic development of the country in general and the banking sector and localities in particular.

Deputy Governor Doan Thai Son said that in the coming time, the domestic and foreign context will have many complex and unpredictable fluctuations. The system of Vietnamese credit institutions, including the system of cooperative credit institutions, will continue to have to carry out many important goals and tasks to join the whole country in successfully completing the socio-economic development goals for the entire period of 2021-2025 and preparing and consolidating the fundamental factors for the next stages.

“This requires Co-opBank to make great efforts and determination in perfecting and innovating its model and improving the quality of its operations to soon turn Co-opBank into a multi-functional, modern financial institution, successfully fulfilling its role as a system-linking center, serving as a solid fulcrum to actively support the People's Credit Fund system to develop safely, healthily, effectively, in accordance with the principles and purposes of the cooperative credit institution model,” the Deputy Governor requested.

From this orientation, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Doan Thai Son emphasized a number of key tasks that Co-opBank needs to do in the coming time.

Firstly, the Board of Directors, the Executive Board and all officers and employees of Co-opBank should inherit the good achievements gained in the past 30 years and promote the spirit of courage, intelligence, innovation and creativity to continue to develop Co-opBank strongly, safely, effectively and sustainably in the coming period, taking the lead in the field of community microfinance and further improving its role as a Bank of the People's Credit Fund system.

The second is to focus on improving the capacity of Co-opBank to effectively perform its role as a bank for the People's Credit Fund and a system linkage center. In particular, completing the increase in charter capital for Co-opBank; Training to improve professional qualifications and ethics for Co-opBank's leaders and employees; Continuing to invest in and build a modern technology system and information infrastructure to meet information security and digital transformation requirements; Building, amending and supplementing charters and internal regulations in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Credit Institutions 2024 and related legal documents; Completing the organizational structure and internal control system to promptly prevent, detect and handle risks and effectively perform its role as a bank for the People's Credit Fund; Actively and synchronously implementing solutions to restructure and handle bad debts in the period of 2021-2025 and the following periods.

Third, synchronously deploy solutions to comprehensively support the QTDND system in governance, operation, control, and internal audit; Study international experience, Vietnamese practices, and the specific operations of the QTDND system to develop products and services to care for and serve QTDND members and members of the QTDND, especially households, small and micro enterprises in rural areas, remote areas - where people still have limited access to banking and financial services; Perform well the role of linking the QTDND system, ensuring the goals and principles of operation as a bank of the QTDND system; actively support the QTDND system to promote digital transformation and information technology application.

Fourthly, it is to create strong changes in the work of inspection, supervision and internal audit of the People's Credit Fund to grasp the operational situation, detect violations and risks, promptly rectify the operations of the People's Credit Fund, ensure compliance with legal regulations and prevent risks to ensure operational safety, and firmly consolidate the People's Credit Fund system according to the direction of the Prime Minister and the Governor of the State Bank.

The Deputy Governor also directed Co-opBank to closely coordinate with functional units of the Central Bank, regional State Bank, Vietnam Deposit Insurance and local authorities at all levels in caring for, supporting, inspecting and supervising the operations of the People's Credit Fund system, especially in promptly detecting and handling weak People's Credit Funds, minimizing negative impacts.

“With the achievements and fine traditions gained over the past 30 years and the courage, intelligence, solidarity, innovation and creativity of the generation of cadres, Co-opBank will continue to develop strongly and effectively, contributing more positively to the cause of innovation, development and integration of the Industry and the country in the new era, worthy of the trust and responsibility assigned by the Party, the State and the State Bank”, the Deputy Governor expressed his confidence.

Accepting the direction of the Deputy Governor of the State Bank, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Co-opBank Nguyen Quoc Cuong pledged to concretize the directions of the State Bank into a strategy and a guideline for Co-opBank in the next stage of development.

"With the tradition of solidarity, creativity, aspiration, and the spirit of writing new pages of history, Co-opBank is committed to continuing to persevere with its development goals and mission in the journey ahead, constantly contributing to the strength of the People's Credit Fund system, the banking industry, and the prosperity of the country," said Mr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong.

Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Doan Thai Son presented the Certificate of Merit of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam to the staff of Co-opBank for their outstanding achievements in contributing to the completion of the Bank's tasks.

14 collectives, which are units at the Head Office and Co-opBank Branches, were honored to receive Certificates of Merit from the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam for their outstanding achievements in contributing to the completion of the Bank's tasks.