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June Banking Reform in Vietnam PDF
June Banking Reform in Vietnam PDF
vices. Over the past two decades, the Vietnamese Mekong Housing Bank (MHB) 100% Government
Owned
government has undertaken a series of reforms to Vietnam Bank for Social Policies 1
strengthen and modernize the sector as part of the Bank for Investment and Development (BIDV)
country’s move towards a more open and market-
Bank for Foreign Trade (Vietcombank)
oriented economy. Many of these reforms have Partially Equitized
Industrial and Commercial Bank (Vietinbank)
also been motivated by Vietnam’s growing partici-
pation in international agreements and ongoing ef- Joint Stock Commercial Banks (JSCB)
forts to adopt international standards such as the
37 banks, including:
Basel capital framework. Key reforms include a
Asia Commercial Bank (ACB)
restructuring of the banking system, a gradual open-
ing to foreign investment, the partial privatization Techcombank
Asia Focus is a periodic newsletter issued by the Country Analysis Unit of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The information contained in this
newsletter is meant to provide useful context and insight into current economic and financial sector developments in the Asia Pacific region. The views
expressed in this publication are solely that of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Federal Reserve System.
chines (ATMs) has also climbed dramatically, rising from captured from the SOCBs.9 Together with joint
1,800 in 2005 to 11,000 as of December 2010.4 Yet de- venture and wholly foreign-owned banks, they ac-
spite this growth, banking penetration rates remain rela- count for slightly more than half of total domestic
tively low. As of December 2009, an estimated 20% of lending as of end-2010 (Figure 2).
Vietnam’s population had bank accounts and around half
of those with accounts actively used consumer banking Joint venture banks are established with capital con-
services.5 Although these figures have likely risen some- tributed by a Vietnamese bank and one or more for-
what during 2010 given the rising trend in credit cards eign banks under a joint venture contract. The share
and ATMs, the Vietnamese market continues to present of foreign investment in the joint venture is limited
growth opportunities for banking service providers. to 49%. Joint venture banks’ activities are not re-
stricted and are similar in nature to those of JSCBs.
Types of Institutions
The banking sector in Vietnam is divided into four pri- Since 2006, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has
mary types of institutions (Figure 1 on previous page). granted licenses to five foreign banks to operate as
These include six state-owned commercial banks wholly foreign-owned banks. In their limited years
(SOCBs), 37 joint stock commercial banks (JSCBs), five of operation, the wholly foreign-owned banks have
joint venture banks, and five wholly foreign-owned reported profits, in part due to high demand by for-
banks.6 eign investors in Vietnam to open accounts with
foreign banks and to use their trade finance and for-
eign exchange services. These banks have also
SOCBs are majority government-owned institutions that
looked to the growing Vietnamese middle class as
the government initially established to fulfill a specialized
potential customers for services in which foreign
policy lending function. SOCBs’ traditional customer
banks are perceived as having a competitive advan-
base has been state-owned enterprises (SOEs), although
tage over domestic banks, such as retail banking and
they are increasingly expanding into more traditional
wealth management services.
commercial banking activities and are no longer consid-
ered formal policy institutions.7 Nevertheless, heavy
lending to SOEs by SOCBs—notably prior to the 1997-98 Profile of the Banking Sector
Asian Financial Crisis—has led to relatively higher levels Early reforms to Vietnam’s banking sector were
of non-performing loans (NPLs) than at other financial part of the broader set of market-oriented reforms
institutions.8 SOCBs accounted for the largest share of that the government began implementing in the
lending, with 49.3% of total loans as of year-end 2010, mid-1980s. A number of these reforms focused on
down from 58.4% in 2007 (Figure 2). decentralizing and privatizing financial activities.
Prior to 1990, the SBV functioned as both a central
JSCBs have more diversified shareholding structures than bank and a commercial bank. The 1990 Ordinance
SOCBs, with both public and private shareholders. They on the State Bank of Vietnam separated the central
specialize in lending to small- and medium-sized enter- bank’s functions and delegated its banking activities
prise clients and in retail finance. JSCBs’ market share to four newly created SOCBs, each targeting a dif-
has grown in recent years, due mainly to market share ferent sector of the economy.10 The central bank’s
Joint Stock and Other Bank Lending 444 576 887 1254
purpose of securities investing and real estate businessfor the government as it continues to search for stra-
purposes.33 These measures appear aimed at bringing tegic shareholders to provide investment and exper-
the banking sector closer to compliance with the re- tise to newly equitized SOCBs. Further, the SBV
cently proposed capital requirements under the Basel recently announced new limitations on foreign in-
III capital framework. vestment in SOCBs, requiring at least USD 20 bil-
lion in assets for investors wishing to invest in more
Looking Ahead than 15%. These restrictions could limit the number
of potential investors and delay the equitization proc-
Within a relatively short period of time, Vietnam’s ess.34
banking sector has transitioned from one dominated
by state-owned commercial banks and no foreign par-
Despite these challenges and obstacles, it is encour-
ticipation to one with a more diversified set of market
aging to see the progress the authorities in Vietnam
participants, including state-owned banks, partially
have made to diversify the market participants in the
privatized banks, joint ventures and foreign institu-
banking industry, strengthen the resiliency of the
tions. The growing presence of foreign banks—
banking sector, and follow internationally accepted
through investments in Vietnamese banks and the es-
banking standards. The success of further reform
tablishment of wholly foreign-owned banks—is likely
and development programs will likely depend on
to motivate domestic institutions to improve their
how well authorities can address remaining chal-
competitiveness and risk management capabilities
lenges.
going forward. Additionally, the government has im-
plemented measures to strengthen the capitalization of
banks, improving the ability of local banks to weather Endnotes
future economic and financial downturns. These 1. The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies is sometimes classified
measures also move Vietnam closer towards compli- as a state-owned social policy bank.
ance with the international capital standards under the 2. Unless otherwise noted, all exchange rates used throughout
Basel framework. reflect the interbank mid-point rate as of March 31, 2011
(VND 20,906.70 = USD 1.00). (Source: Oanda.com.)
3. International Monetary Fund. “Staff Report for the 2011 Arti-
The government faces a number of challenges as it cle IV Consultation for Vietnam.” April 12, 2011.
4. Vietnam Banking Finance News. “Vietnam central bank pro-
moves forward with further reform and development poses tasks for banking sector in 2011.” December 29, 2010.
of the banking sector. As the December 2011 dead- 5. Vietnam Financial Review. “Vietnam’s Retail Banking Re-
line for the new minimum capitalization requirement port.” January 12, 2011.
approaches, competition for capital among banks will 6. Number of banks are from the State Bank of Vietnam.
7. World Bank. Banking Sector Review: Vietnam. June 2001;
increase. This could lead to the merger or closure of and ASEAN Economic Bulletin, Vol. 26 Number 1. “Banking
smaller banks that are unable to meet the new require- and Financial Sector Reforms in Vietnam.” April 2009.
ments. Capital raising efforts are also likely to be 8. The official Vietnamese government figure estimates that
made more difficult by recent declines in equity val- about 2.5% of total outstanding loans were non-performing as
of year-end 2010. SOCBs reportedly held around 60% of total
ues. Lower equity prices may also create difficulties NPLs. (Source: Vietnam Banking Finance News. “Adding
Vinashin’s debt, banks non-performing loans rise by 0.7 pct.”
December 27, 2010.)
9. ASEAN Economic Bulletin, Vol. 26, No. 1, April 2009.
10. World Bank. “Viet Nam Financial Sector Review: An Agenda
for Financial Sector Development.” March 1, 1995.
11. Article 3, Ordinance on the State Bank of Vietnam. May 23, 1990.
(Note: “Credit institutions,” as defined by the Law on Credit Institu-
tions, are enterprises that conduct monetary business and provide bank-
ing services, including deposit taking, lending and payment services.)
12. Fitch Ratings. “Country Report: The Vietnam Banking System.” July
10, 2002.
13. U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council.
14. These requirements were specified in Decree 22-2006-ND-CP.
15. Article 7.6 and Article 8.2(b) of Decree 22-2006-ND-CP.
16. Article 11 and Article 32 of Decree 22-2006-ND-CP.
17. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Country Analysis Unit.
“Vietnam’s Banking Sector.” February 2008.
18. Decree 69/2007/ND-CP on the Purchase by Foreign Investors of Share-
holding in Vietnamese Commercial Banks.
19. Article 4.4 of Decree 69/2007/ND-CP on the Purchase by Foreign In-
vestors of Shareholding in Vietnamese Commercial Banks. Notably,
the government has granted exceptions to the 15% investment ceiling in
three cases as of early 2011: HSBC’s purchase of 20% of Techcom-
bank, Maybank’s purchase of 20% of ABBank, and Societe Generale’s
investment in SeaBank. (Source: Vietnam Investment Review. “Banks
start to look offshore.” May 25, 2011.)
20. Article 12.4 of Decree 69/2007/ND-CP on the Purchase by Foreign
Investors of Shareholding in Vietnamese Commercial Banks.
21. Financial Times. “Vietcombank IPO sets tone for state issues.” De-
cember 27, 2007. (Note: FX rate is from article.)
22. Saigon Money. “Vietcombank can’t raise capital without foreign part-
ner.” January 3, 2010. (Note: FX rate is from article.)
23. Bloomberg. “Vietcombank to Select Partners This Year to Cut State
Ownership.” January 25, 2011.
24. Bloomberg. Vietinbank Raises $64 Million From Initial Share Sale.”
December 25, 2008. (Note: FX rate is from article.)
25. Saigon Times. “IFC busy into VietinBank.” January 27, 2011.
26. Bloomberg. “Vietnam’s Premier Approves Mekong Housing Bank
Share Sale Plan.” April 26, 2011.
27. Bloomberg. “Vietnam BIDV May Sell Shares in IPO in Second-
Quarter, VIR Says.” November 28, 2010.
28. VietFinanceNews.com. “Agribank to become limited company.” Feb-
ruary 9, 2011.
29. Fitch Ratings. “Country Report: The Vietnam Banking System.”
March 24, 2006.
30. Decree 141/2006/ND-CP.
31. Decree 10/2011/ND-CP.
32. Circular 13/TT-NHNN.
33. Vietnam News Agency. “Central bank redefines circular.” September
28, 2010; and, State Bank of Vietnam. Circular No. 13/2010/TT-
NHNN. Article 5.6.
34. Reuters. “Vietnam Limits Investment in State Banks.” April 27, 2011.
35. International Monetary Fund. “Staff Report for the 2011 Article IV
Consultation for Vietnam.” April 12, 2011.
SEPTEMBER 8‐9, 2011
San Francisco, CA
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is pleased to announce that registration is open for our sympo-
sium on Asian banking and finance, entitled Asian Financial Institutions: Risk Management in a Global
Environment, on September 8-9, 2011 in San Francisco. This year's symposium continues our tradition of
examining emerging trends and issues that will impact banking and financial centers both in Asia and in the
United States. Specifically, we will examine the complex issues that are part of managing risk in a global
environment, and how financial institutions in Asia are balancing regulation, risk and innovation.
The symposium will commence with a keynote address from Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Executive Officer,
PIMCO.