Vietnam

Vietnam Banks Association 193 Ba Trieu Quan Hai Ba Trung Hanoi Vietnam Tel: 084 4 3821 8687 Fax: 084 4 3821 8732 Email: vnba01@hn.vnn.vn Dr Pham Huy Hung, Chairman Ms Duong Thu Huong, Secretary General Mr Cao Dac Cuong, Liaison officer

Mr Richard Tean from EFG Bank Ltd, Singapore Branch was in Hanoi on 28 & 29 January 2010 to share on the topic of managing Foreign Exchange & Interest Rates. There were a total of 118 participants from 21 organizations, including heads, deputy heads of departments, experts in foreign exchange and treasury officers, accountants and internal controllers. The participants were enthusiastic and participative during the training. They felt that the course was very practical, and the trainer was able to share his valuable experience with them.

VNBA and ABA would like to record their appreciation to Mr Richard Tean for his contribution.

On 25 & 26 February 2010, Mr Liew Chee Seng conducted a course on Risk Management & Internal Controls in Ho Chi Minh City. Mr Liew was formerly the Chief Representative & Country Manager of Qatar National Bank, Singapore. He has also worked in UOB Singapore for close to 20 years. The course attracted 159 participants ranging from middle management staff to Directors from various commercial institutions. The course dealt more on the concepts and explanation of terms relating to Risk Management. Whilst useful, participants felt that they would have benefited even more if the scope of the training had extended to cover more real life examples and case studies for managing and mitigating risks. Mr Liew appreciates the responsiveness of the audience. He was of the view that if the class size were smaller, there could be more interaction and participation.

VNBA and ABA would like to thank Mr Liew for taking time off from his busy schedule to conduct this course.

Once again the banking community in Vietnam had the privilege to learn from Mr Maximo Madridejos on the subject of Banking Services in Import and Export Actvities. On 27 & 28 April 2010, Mr Maximo, retired banker from Security Bank, Philippines, was in Hanoi to share his knowledge with participants at this course hosted by VNBA. Mr Maximo had conducted a similar course at Ho Chi Minh City in December last year.

The 2-day training session in Hanoi was attended by 65 participants who are heads, deputy heads, accountants and mid career staff working in credit, international payments, and risk management. The participants enjoyed the sessions as they find the course contents very relevant and practical.

VNBA and ABA would like to thank the Bankers Association of the Philippines for arranging for Mr Maximo to teach in Hanoi. We also want to record our appreciation to Mr Maximo who has contributed to the training needs of the Asean banking community even though he has already retired.

On 9 & 10 November 2009, Mr Charles Brough from UniCredit Bank AG, was invited back again to Hanoi to share his knowledge. This time, it was to share on a somewhat complex area of trade financing and forfaiting. There were a total of 52 participants in this course, from 20 different agencies, including Deputy Directors, Heads/Deputy Heads, as well as officers from credit and market risk management; operations officers, accountants and financial controllers.

VNBA and ABA would like to record their appreciation to Mr Brough for taking time off to impart his knowledge and experience.

On 23 & 24 November 2009, VNBA had the privilege of having Ms Wee Wei Min from OCBC, Singapore Head Office, to conduct a course on Treasury products in Ho Chi Minh City. This was the second time that Ms Wee had conducted a course on behalf of VNBA. In March 2008, a similar Treasury Course was conducted for VNBA in Hanoi. This round, there was also a good turnout. There were 106 participants from 30 agencies, including participants from banks and the Ho Chi Minh University of Economics.

The participants were very happy with Ms Wee’s delivery and her wealth of experience. In their own words, “Ms Wee is very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and approachable. She is very committed, responsive and friendly”.

VNBA and ABA are indeed grateful to Ms Wee for making such a positive impact on the participants as she shares her knowledge with them.

On 10 & 11 December 2009, Mr Maximo Madridejos from Security Bank, Philippines conducted a course on Banking Services in Import & Export Activities in Ho Chi Minh City. The course was very well attended, with 77 participants, including Deputy Directors, Heads/Deputy Heads, officers from various commercial institutions, as well as members of VNBA in southern Vietnam.

There was very positive feedback from the participants, and many felt that the training course was very useful and practical as the trainer was able to share his rich experience with them.

VNBA and ABA would like to thank Mr Maximo for his valuable contribution, and for taking time and effort to prepare this course which has benefited many of the attendees.

Mr Charles Martin Brough was invited back to HCMC on 29 & 30 June 2009 to conduct a repeat Trade Finance course on “Letters of Credit & Risks”. The first course was conducted in Hanoi on 27 & 28 April 2009.

The course attracted 160 participants comprising branch managers and officers from fifty one banks and finance companies as well as the Economics University. His popularity amongst the participants has prompted VNBA to invite him back again to conduct courses for other related topics. His next course on Operational Risks in Trade Finance & Forfaiting will be in Hanoi.

VNBA and ABA are indeed grateful to Mr Brough for taking time and effort to share his knowledge and experience towards building the professional skills of our members.

The workshop on Lending Against Cash Flow was organized jointly by ABA and VNBA and held over two days in HCMC on 27 & 28 May 2009. The instructor was Mr Tay Kah Chye, Honorary Advisor of ABA.

About 200 bank officers attended the workshop. VNBA regretted that they had to turn away many participants as the limited capacity of the training hall could not accommodate all the interested participants. In view of the overwhelming response from participants, VNBA will schedule a repeat of the course in Ho Chih Minh City.

Mr Tay also conducted a similar course in Hanoi on 29 & 30 June 2009. It attracted 121 participants from banks comprising managers and officers who are working in credit related fields.

The participants commented that the exercises prepared by Mr Tay for the workshop were very useful in reinforcing the concepts taught.

VNBA and ABA would like to record their appreciation to Mr Tay for his valuable contribution.

On 27 & 28 August 2009, Mr Harjindar Singh, Head of Asset Liability Management, Market Risk Management of Malayan Banking Bhd, Kuala Lumpur (Maybank) conducted a course on Liquidity Risk Management. Mr Singh comes with the recommendation of the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM). With a strong background of more than fifteen years experience in Risk Management, Mr Singh is a frequent speaker for Risk Awareness Programs in Malaysia. The course was attended by fifty participants comprising Directors and Deputy Directors from more than twenty banks in Hanoi.

The topics covered were:
• Regulatory Requirements & Guidelines
• Identification & Measurement
• Governance, Control & Reporting
• Risk Oversight
• Stress Testing
• Contingency Funding Plan
• Practical Insights from the Recent Global Liquidity Crisis

The topics were very relevant to the current market condition and participants rated the course very favourably.

VNBA and ABA would like to record their appreciation to ABM for sourcing the speaker and coordinating the training arrangements. We are also grateful to Maybank, Kuala Lumpur for releasing Mr Singh officially to conduct the training, and to Mr Singh for imparting his skills and valuable knowledge.