The State Bank of Vietnam convened a 2025 supervisory conference on internal control, internal audit and internal inspection at credit institutions, instructing boards and senior management to tighten governance and compliance to support safe and sustainable operations in line with Government and Prime Minister directions. On credit activity, institutions were asked to implement existing SBV directives on credit and sectoral lending, continue cutting costs and simplifying administrative processes and accelerate digital transformation to create scope to reduce lending rates. Credit was to be steered toward production and business, priority sectors and identified traditional and new growth drivers, while closely controlling lending to sectors with higher risk. The SBV also highlighted implementation of its guidance linked to the Prime Minister’s environmental pollution agenda and green project classification, including completion of internal rules for environmental risk management in lending under Circular 17/2022/TT-NHNN, and called for accurate statistical reporting by sector. For internal control functions, boards of directors, executive management and supervisory boards were instructed to comply with Circular 13/2018/TT-NHNN as amended, remove overlapping or weak internal rules, and raise internal audit quality through risk-based audit plans focused on major risk areas such as large exposures, non-performing loans, financial investments, insurance, corporate bonds and information technology. Internal audit was expected to identify causes and responsibilities and propose specific remedial actions, with enhanced staffing, specialist training including on anti-money laundering and cybersecurity, and greater use of big data, artificial intelligence and automation to enable continuous auditing and real-time monitoring. Looking ahead, credit institutions were asked to proactively consider funding for feasible, effective key projects and to continue rolling out targeted lending programmes, including for social housing, infrastructure, digital technology and high-quality rice value-chain initiatives.
State Bank of Vietnam 2025-09-15
State Bank of Vietnam directs credit institutions to strengthen internal controls and risk-based internal audit in 2025
The State Bank of Vietnam's 2025 supervisory conference urged credit institutions to enhance governance, compliance, and digital transformation for sustainable operations. Institutions were directed to implement existing directives on credit, focus lending on priority sectors, and manage environmental risks per Circular 17/2022/TT-NHNN. Internal controls were to be strengthened by adhering to Circular 13/2018/TT-NHNN, improving audit quality, and utilizing advanced technologies for continuous monitoring.