The State Bank of Vietnam held a Lunar New Year meeting with retired central bank officials, where Governor Nguyen Thi Hong reviewed sector results for 2025 and the 2021–2025 term and outlined key institutional and regulatory changes. The update highlighted organisational restructuring within the central bank, the completion of a mandatory transfer programme for four weak banks, major legislative work, and continued digitalisation and cross-border payments integration. Reported measures and outcomes included merging the State Bank’s Party Personnel Committee and Party Committee and incorporating the Party Committees of four state-owned commercial banks, Deposit Insurance and the Bank for Social Policies into the State Bank’s Party Committee, increasing Party membership from about 3,000 to nearly 20,000. The State Bank also converted its network from 63 provincial and municipal branches to 15 regional branches, describing the reorganisation as not disrupting public payment and transaction systems, and noted a sector-wide rearrangement of trade unions for units without financial autonomy. On operating conditions, the Governor cited low average inflation over the term, average economic growth of 6–7% with 8.02% in 2025, and stable foreign exchange markets and exchange rates, alongside fee reductions, lower interest rates and debt repayment restructuring measures for customers. The term’s legal work was described as encompassing hundreds of instruments, including the 2022 Law on Prevention and Combat of Money Laundering, an amended Law on Credit Institutions, legal provisions on bad debt settlement to address bottlenecks in collateral seizure, and completion of an amended Law on Deposit Insurance; more than 90% of transactions were reported as taking place via digital channels, supported by biometric and population data connectivity under Project 06, and cross-border payment linkages were reported as in place with Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, with deployment underway with China. Looking ahead, the Governor framed the next term as requiring the banking sector to support a goal of sustained double-digit economic growth while maintaining macroeconomic stability, with inflation control and system safety set out as top priorities.
State Bank of Vietnam 2026-02-06
State Bank of Vietnam reviews 2021–2025 reforms including consolidation to 15 regional branches and mandatory transfer of four weak banks
State Bank of Vietnam Governor Nguyen Thi Hong reviewed 2025 sector results, outlining key changes: organisational restructuring, completion of a mandatory transfer programme for weak banks, and legislative advancements. The bank aims for sustained double-digit economic growth, prioritizing inflation control and system safety, with over 90% of transactions now digital and cross-border payment integration underway with regional partners.