The Bank of the Lao held a briefing to publicize two decrees covering banknote management and the prevention and resolution of financial system crises. The measures provide decree-level support for core central bank functions and set an overarching framework for coordinated action across Laos’s financial safety net when system-wide stress arises. For banknote management, the Bank said the legal basis had previously rested on the Bank of the Lao law and a number of governor-level instruments, but no decree existed and some operational areas were not set out in specific rules, including cooperation on counterfeit banknotes. Notes currently in circulation span 14 denominations from LAK 1 to LAK 100,000, although everyday use is concentrated in LAK 500 to LAK 100,000 and smaller notes have not yet been withdrawn. On crisis management, the Bank said Laos already has the main financial safety net components, but agencies have operated with limited coordination, consultation and information sharing and without a comprehensive legal instrument for joint national-level responses. Work on the banknote decree began in late 2023 and was completed in late 2025, while work on the crisis decree began in late 2024 and was completed in early 2026.
Bank of the Lao 2026-04-28
Bank of the Lao publicizes two decrees on banknote management and financial crisis prevention and resolution
The Bank of the Lao has issued two decrees on banknote management and on the prevention and resolution of financial system crises, providing decree-level support for core central bank functions. The banknote decree formalizes the legal basis for currency operations, including cooperation on counterfeit banknotes, while the crisis decree establishes an overarching framework for coordinated national-level responses across Laos’s financial safety net.