Deputy Governor: Banks play a big role in virtual currency

That was the affirmation of Deputy Governor of the State Bank Pham Tien Dung at the 5th Annual Conference, 7th term of the Vietnam Banking Association, which took place on March 27.

The 5th Annual Conference, 7th term of the Vietnam Banking Association. Photo: Ngo Hai

Important bridge between members and management

2024 marks a year of many challenges but also full of opportunities for the banking industry. The Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA) held its 5th Annual Conference, term VII (2020 - 2025) to summarize its performance and set strategic directions for 2025.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Mr. Pham Toan Vuong - General Director of Agribank, Chairman of VNBA - affirmed that over the past year, the association has been steadfast, closely following the direction of the Government and the State Bank to perform well its tasks, actively contributing to the overall success of the industry.

Accordingly, in 2024, the association actively contributed to the completion of the legal framework, when participating in commenting on 90 drafts and projects of legal documents, including many important laws such as: Law on Credit Institutions 2024, Housing Law 2023, Law on Real Estate Business 2023...

In addition, the association also plays an important role as a bridge between member organizations and state management agencies. Over the past year, more than 30 petitions have been sent to the National Assembly, the Government, the State Bank, the Ministry of Public Security, etc. to resolve difficulties and shortcomings in banking operations.

Mr. Pham Toan Vuong - General Director of Agribank, Chairman of VNBA - delivered the opening speech at the conference. Photo: Ngo Hai

Not only focusing on policy, the VNBA Chairman also said that the association also promotes communication activities and personnel training. In 2024, more than 2,940 news and articles about the banking industry were published on the association's media channels. At the same time, 48 training programs with more than 10,000 participants have helped improve the quality of human resources in the industry.

"Other areas of work such as international cooperation, implementation of the Code of Professional Ethics; internal work... are also given attention and focus" - Mr. Pham Toan Vuong said.

Providing more information about the association's activities in the past year, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung - Vice President and General Secretary of VNBA - emphasized the mark of the association's standing body in international cooperation. During the year, the association worked with many international delegations to exchange, listen and support international organizations to connect with management agencies and member organizations in Vietnam, contributing to expanding the ability to seek cooperation opportunities, bringing benefits to member organizations.

Last year, the number of members of the association continued to increase, bringing the total to 76 organizations, including many foreign banks such as: MUFG, ICBC, HSBC, SMBC... This shows the attractiveness of the Vietnamese financial market and the important role of the association in supporting international cooperation.

“We will continuously innovate and improve operational efficiency to work with member organizations to develop the Vietnamese banking industry more strongly in 2025 and the following years,” Mr. Hung emphasized.

Based on the achievements in 2024, the Vice President of VNBA pledged: "VNBA will continue to be a solid bridge between member organizations and management agencies, ensuring the legitimate rights of banks, while promoting innovation and transparency in financial and banking activities".

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung - Vice President and General Secretary of VNBA - spoke at the conference. Photo: Ngo Hai

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung said that 2025 is the final year of the 5-year socio-economic development plan (2021 - 2025), and is also a decisive time for the banking industry to continue to strongly reform. The Association determined that 2025 will focus on key tasks: Continue to participate in giving opinions on policies and mechanisms related to banking activities, thereby recommending that the drafting agency consider perfecting the legal framework, creating favorable conditions for banking business activities.

At the same time, promptly grasp the difficulties and problems of member organizations during their operations to propose to competent authorities for consideration and resolution. In particular, develop and submit to the Association Council for promulgation of conventions in banking activities such as: Handbook on debt restructuring outside of court; Code of conduct in debt collection activities; Procedure/Handbook for coordination in supporting the handling of accounts/cards related to transactions suspected of fraud, forgery, and fraud; Handbook on cross-border payment connection infrastructure via QR code)...

Cryptocurrency Exchanges Will Change the Banking Industry

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Governor of the State Bank Pham Tien Dung highly appreciated the cooperation of the Banking Association with management agencies in developing legal documents. Last year, the association proactively and actively participated in reviewing and commenting on 90 draft legal documents, including important laws such as the Law on Credit Institutions, the Land Law, the Housing Law, the Law on Real Estate Business, the Law on Electronic Transactions, etc. The contributions of the Banking Association have practical value and have been recognized by management agencies, who have amended and supplemented policies to be more suitable to reality.

“In some European countries with developed banking and finance, law and human resources are aspects that they pay great attention to and focus on. The Banking Association has been making very positive contributions in both of these aspects,” the Deputy Governor assessed.

Not only does the association play a very good role in accompanying the management agency in the process of developing policies and legal documents, it is always determined, words always go hand in hand with actions, creating trust for the management agency in the process of issuing documents related to the industry's activities. The State Bank's leaders stated that to achieve great success in issuing on time and effectively implementing Decision 2345/QD-NHNN on implementing safety and security solutions in online payments and bank card payments (effective from July 1, 2024), the association plays a great role.

“If the Banking Association had not been determined, Decision 2345 might not have been issued on July 1, 2024, and the implementation of biometrics across the entire banking system might not have achieved the current success,” Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dung affirmed.

Deputy Governor of the State Bank Pham Tien Dung speaks at the conference. Photo: Ngo Hai

The State Bank leader said that the banking industry will soon have many major changes, especially in perfecting policies. "Therefore, the role of associations and banks in contributing ideas is very important," Mr. Pham Tien Dung emphasized.

According to the Deputy Governor, in 2025, the Law on Credit Institutions will officially take effect, along with 64 circulars issued by the State Bank in the past year, clearly demonstrating major policy changes. Among them, cryptocurrency exchanges are one of the most important highlights.

Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dung revealed: “There will be big changes in the near future related to the decree on virtual currency exchanges. Many banks do not yet understand how these exchanges operate and what role they play. However, I affirm that banks will play a big role in protecting consumers, clearing payments and ensuring the coin has a stable value.”

Along with the pilot of the cryptocurrency exchange, the State Bank is about to issue a decree on financial centers. According to the Deputy Governor, some financial institutions operating in financial centers may not be able to mobilize deposits from residents. Therefore, in the event of a collapse, the State Bank will not be responsible for refinancing loans. Many regulations from operations to safety indicators will change completely.

The Deputy Governor stated that the banking industry's operations have been changing rapidly. Especially when e-banking services develop, it also leads to great risks. Accordingly, the Deputy Governor highly appreciated the role and contribution of the association in developing rules of conduct in transactions such as international payments, fraud handling, etc.

As of December 31, 2024, the Vietnam Banks Association has a total of 76 member organizations, including: 63 official members, 11 associate members and 2 honorary members, of which in 2024, it held a membership admission ceremony for 2 foreign bank branches (MUFG and ICBC) as associate members; contacted and exchanged information and guided 5 foreign banks and bank branches (HSBC, SMBC, WooriBank, Siam Commercial Bank and Bank of India) on membership procedures. The scale and quality of operations of member organizations are also increasing, occupying a key market share in the currency, credit and asset management markets.

Hoang Lan

Source: https://congthuong.vn/pho-thong-doc-ngan-hang-giu-vai-tro-lon-voi-tien-ao-380264.html