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 Mr Nguyen Hoa Binh, Chairman Ms Tran Thi Hong Hanh, Secretary General Mr Nghiem Diep Thuong, Liaison officer

Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA)

1.Two new affiliate members

ANZ Vietnam and PPF Financial Vietnam were admitted as affiliate members, the 53rd and 54th members of Vietnam Banks Association.

2.Meeting with International Monetary Fund and World Bank

VNBA together with State Bank of Vietnam met with Mr Martin Vazquez, IMF and Mr Yen Nian Mooi, World Bank, to discuss the implementation of The Financial Sector Assessment Program among the banks in Vietnam.

3.Official launch of Vietnam Banking Legal Club

On 15th January 2013, VNBA official launched the Banking Legal Club with thirty five members. The Club's office is office located at VNBA. The Banking Legal Club is a professional non-profit social organization. The objective of the Club is for members to share their experiences and discuss legal banking issues.

Contributed by Vietnam Banks Association

On 24 to 25 May 2012, Mr Howard Low conducted a two-day training course on "SME Lending" in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on behalf of Vietnam Banks Association and the ASEAN Bankers Association.

Mr Howard Low has more than twenty-four years of Banking experience in various leading Financial Institutions (both local and foreign) in Singapore and has covered countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam during his career. He has been primarily involved in the area of business lending and transactions with exposure to both SMEs and Large Corporate Institutions.

The topics covered by Mr Low included Best Practice Approach to SME Lending, managing a Portfolio of SME Accounts, SME credit assessment process, Challenges in implementing Best Practice SME Lending model in Vietnam. The training course was well attended with more than one hundred participants from the various financial institutions in Vietnam.

The Vietnam Banks Association and ASEAN Bankers Association would like to record our deepest appreciation to Mr Howard Low for generously setting aside time and effort to share his knowledge and experience with the banking community in Vietnam.

On 22 and 23 December 2011, Mr. Frankie Phua, on behalf of Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA) and the ASEAN Bankers Association (ABA), conducted a course on Credit Risk Management in Corporate Banking.

The trainer, Mr. Phua is currently the Executive Director and the Head of the Credit & Country Risk Management Division in United Overseas Bank Limited, Singapore (UOB). Prior to joining UOB Risk Management, Mr. Phua had more than 10 years of frontline experience in corporate lending and loan syndication, Mr. Phua has also been appointed by Risk Management Institute (RMI), National University of Singapore (“NUS”) to teach the Specialist Diploma in Risk Management as well as customized risk management courses specially tailored to clients’ needs.

There were 63 participants comprising of mainly credit officers from various commercial banks. The participants commented that the course was both informative and practical. They found the case studies, provided by Mr. Phua very interesting and engaging. They also mentioned that Mr. Phua is an experienced, friendly and enthusiastic trainer.

VNBA and ABA would like to record our deepest appreciation to Mr. Phua for generously setting aside time and effort to share his knowledge and experience with the banking community in Vietnam.

On 19 and 20 September 2011, Mr Chew Kok Leong, Head of Business Development, AFC Merchant Bank, conducted a course on Project Financing in Hanoi on behalf of the Vietnam Banks Association and the ASEAN Bankers Association. Mr Chew has more than 20 years experience in originating and structuring cross-border complex projects/structured finance deals. He gained his professional experience with both local and international financial institutions, including two of the local banks.

The course was very well attended, with 109 participants comprising managers, deputy managers and senior staff from the credit, legal, risk, debt management and internal supervision departments from more than 20 commercial banks.

Mr Chew gave an overview of project financing. The topics he covered included the organization of project financing, risks, security, funding sources and cash flow analysis.

The course was designed to be interactive with several cases on projects financed internationally. The participants demonstrated their keen interest in the course judging from their active discussions. They gave positive feedback on the course as well as Mr Chew’s delivery, praising him on his ability to actively engage them given his enthusiasm and friendliness. The participants however felt that the course would have been even better if there were more case studies based on Vietnam projects.

VNBA and ABA would like to record our appreciation to Mr Chew for taking time off his busy schedule to share his knowledge and experience with the banking community in Vietnam.

On 23 and 24 June 2011, Mr Alexander A Patricio, conducted a course on the Types of Risks in Commercial Bank activities in Hanoi on behalf of the Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA) and the ASEAN Bankers Association (ABA). Mr Patricio is the Director/Head of Corporate & Financial Institutions Lending of ING Bank Philippines. He has been working in the banking industry for more than 30 years. He is a very experienced banker and has held various positions in risk management, relationship management, operations, and financial control.

Mr Patricio explained the various types of risks as well as elaborated on the approaches towards risk assessment, risk measurement and risk mitigation. He also presented the Basel II framework and the recent developments on Basel III, and shared with participants ING’s Credit, Market, and Operational Risk Management Framework.

The course was very well received with 245 participants from 42 banks. They comprised Directors, Deputy Directors, Managers, Deputy Managers and other bank staff. The participants were very pleased with the trainer’s course delivery and sharing of his experience and knowledge.

VNBA and ABA would like to thank the Bankers Association of the Philippines for introducing Mr Patricio, and for arranging for his trip to Hanoi to conduct the course. We would also like to thank Mr Patricio for taking time off from his busy schedule to share his knowledge and experience with the banking community in Vietnam.

On 23 and 25 May 2011, on behalf of the Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA) and the ASEAN Bankers Association (ABA), Mr Frank Choo gave a talk on the Global Financial Crisis to 43 participants in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi respectively. Mr Frank Choo is a veteran in the banking industry, having worked in United Overseas Bank, Singapore for more than three decades. He retired from UOB as the Senior Vice President, Global Financial Institutions Group, and is currently a Senior Consultant in Trustford Consultants Pte Ltd.

Besides sharing on the lessons learnt from case studies on Lehman Brothers and Iceland, Mr Choo touched on globalization and the impact of the 1997/2008-2010 crisis on banks, as well as the resultant new challenges and opportunities for Banks’ domestic as well as international activities.

The participants at the seminar were Deputy General Directors, Branch Directors, Department Managers, Deputy Managers, and Staff of Treasury Departments from the various banks. They commented that Mr Choo was very knowledgeable, as well as very enthusiastic in his presentation.

VNBA and ABA would like to put on record our appreciation to Mr Choo for spending time to share his knowledge and his wealth of experience with the banking community in Vietnam.

On 28 February and 1 March 2011, the Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA) organized a course on Non-performing Loans Management in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The trainer, Mr Bernard John Reid, hails from Sydney, Australia. Mr Reid brings with him four decades of practical banking experience gained in Australia, South East Asia and the Middle East in all aspects of corporate and middle-market banking including senior marketing and credit positions, remedial management and risk asset reviews. Mr Reid is currently a Risk Management Consultant in Australia.

The response to the course was overwhelming, with 356 participants attending. The participants include officers from the various echelons in the banking community. Following the course in Ho Chi Minh City, another similar course was conducted by Mr Reid in Hanoi on 3 and 4 March 2011. The course was also very well received, with 236 participants.

As the turnout of participants was unexpectedly large, there was not enough time for discussion between the participants and the trainer. Nevertheless, the substantive aspects of the course contents were adequately communicated.

VNBA and ABA would like to record their appreciation to Mr Reid for taking time off from his busy schedule to travel all the way from Sydney to Vietnam to conduct the two training courses.

On 15 March 2011, the Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA), in coordination with Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietiNbank) held a Seminar on “Vietnam Gold Market: Emerging Issues”.

The seminar attracted a number of economic experts, scholars and leaders from the Vietnam Gold Traders Association, jeweler companies, and the public media.

The seminar discussions focused on a host of issues, including the management of gold as a tool of monetary policy; management and circulation of gold bars and gold prices; managing the gold exchanges as well as the import and export of gold. The Secretary General of VNBA, Dr. Duong Thu Huong remarked that all the issues raised in the seminar are very insightful as Vietnam gears itself to further develop her gold market with a view to linking up with the world markets in this precious commodity.

The 3rd Annual Meeting of VNBA Term IV was held at Melia Hotel, Hanoi on 11 March 2011. The event was chaired by Dr. Pham Huy Hung, Chairman of VNBA and also Chairman of Vietinbank. Dr Pham is also the Chairman of the ASEAN Bankers Association.

With the theme: “2011 - towards a stable monetary market in accordance with international practices”, the meeting attracted prominent speakers, delegates from various banks & financial institutions, government agencies and the public media. VNBA is also honoured to have H.E. Mr Tran Minh Tuan, Senior Deputy Governor of State Bank of Vietnam give a keynote address.

Attendees heard presentations from Dr. Duong Thu Huong, Secretary General of VNBA, Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu, Anbinhbank and Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Mui, Vietinbank. They raised a number of issues, including foreign exchange management and obstacles in dealing in the money market.

Sparing no effort to control inflation, stabilise the macro economy and uphold social security, the Vietnamese Government has come up with the following key issues under Resolution 11/NQ-CP dated 24 February 2011:

• Carry out a tightened and prudent monetary policy.
• Carry out a tight fiscal policy, restrict public investments and narrow budget deficit.
• Boost production and business operations, encourage exports, reduce imports and save energy.

In compliance with the above mentioned Resolution, the Banking Sector will carry out a tight, prudent but flexible monetary policy so as to curb inflation and keep the Vietnam Dong’s value.

On 22 and 23 September, 2010, Ms Yeo Hwee Choo, Deputy Head of OCBC Bank, Real Estate Department, conducted a two-day training session on the Principles of Real Estate Lending. This course was conducted in Hanoi at the VNBA’s training centre. There were 32 participants, comprising business planning managers, credit officers, bankers and legal officers as well.

The participants are from banks as well as finance companies. The participants enjoyed the course. The handouts were easy to understand and the lecturer was very enthusiastic. However, some felt that they would have learnt even more if there was more time for practical case studies. Some of the participants had suggested that a similar course should also be conducted in Ho Chi Minh City.

VNBA and ABA are indeed grateful that Ms Yeo had taken time and effort to teach this course despite her busy schedule.

On 26 & 27 August 2010, VNBA had the privilege of having Mr Duncan Edwards and two of his colleagues, Ms Thu Xuan Ly and Mr Saman Bandara, to conduct a training course on Corporate Governance in Ho Chi Minh City. Mr Edwards is the Executive Director (Global Financial Services) from Ernst & Young, The training was very well attended.

There were 65 participants, including bankers and Universities’ lecturers. The participants were very pleased with the contents delivered. They appreciate the enthusiasm of the trainers and their willingness to share their wealth of experience and knowledge on Corporate Governance.

VNBA and ABA would like to record their appreciation to Mr Duncan Edwards and his colleagues for taking time off from their busy schedules to conduct this training.

On 8 & 9 July 2010, Mr Albert Law, Managing Director from A.A. & Associates Consulting International Limited, Hong Kong conducted a course on Financial Analysis and Project Evaluation at Ho Chi Minh City. The two-day course attracted a total of 280 participants ranging from managers of provincial branches of banks and departments, experts in credit, and accountants of VNBA member banks in southern Vietnam.

The participants felt that the trainer was devoted, had good teaching methods and that the course was easy for them to follow. They also appreciated the fact that the interpreter was good and conveyed the trainer’s presentation very well.


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

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.