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State Bank of Vietnam

Coordinates: 21°01′39″N 105°51′23″E / 21.0274°N 105.8563°E / 21.0274; 105.8563
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

State Bank of Vietnam
Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam
Headquarters49 Ly Thai To Street, Trang Tien Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Established6 May 1951; 73 years ago (1951-05-06)
OwnershipGovernment of Vietnam
100% state ownership[1]
GovernorNguyễn Thị Hồng
Key peopleNguyễn Toàn Thắng, Đào Minh Tú, Nguyễn Kim Anh
Central bank of Socialist Republic of Vietnam (since 1976)
 Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1951-1975)
CurrencyVietnamese đồng
VND (ISO 4217)
Reserves100+ million USD[2]
Preceded byNorth VietnamSouth Vietnam National Bank of Vietnam
Websitewww.sbv.gov.vn

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV; Vietnamese: Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam) is the central bank of Vietnam. Organized a ministry-level body under the Government of Vietnam, it is the sole issuer of the national currency, the Vietnamese đồng.[3] As of 2024 it holds over USD 100 million in foreign exchange reserves.[2]

History

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State Bank of Vietnam headquarters in Hanoi with French art-deco architecture
State Bank branch in Ho Chi Minh City.

When Indochina was under French rule, the colonial government governed the Indochinese monetary system through Banque de l'Indochine, which also acted as a commercial bank in French Indochina.

After the August Revolution in 1945, the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam gradually attempted to exercise a monetary system independent from France. On 6 May 1951, president Hồ Chí Minh signed decree 15/SL on establishment of Vietnam National Bank (Ngân hàng Quốc gia Việt Nam). On 21 January 1960, the governor of the bank signed an ordinance on behalf of the prime minister to rename the bank State Bank of Vietnam (Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam).[citation needed]

After the fall of Saigon, the two Vietnams were united but not until July 1976 did the two countries’ administrations and institutions unite. In July 1976, the National Bank of Vietnam (the central bank of Republic of Vietnam) was merged into the State Bank of Vietnam.

In the Đổi Mới liberalisation era, the banking system of Vietnam was reformed. New banks were created, starting with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Vietnam (VietinBank - now the largest listed bank) and the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture in 1988, and the role of the State Bank was gradually narrowed to that of a central bank.[4] In 1990, an ordinance reorganised the state bank and redefined its function as: "on behalf of the State, of managing money, credit, and banking operations throughout the country in order to stabilize a value of money, and is the only agency with power to circulate the currency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam"[5] While the State Bank continued to lend to state-owned enterprises in the following years, it has now been largely superseded in the respect by other state-owned banks and by private banks.

Buildings

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Several of the State Bank of Vietnam’s buildings are inherited from the Banque de l'Indochine. These include the State Bank’s headquarters in Hanoi, former Hanoi office completed in 1930; the Ho Chi Minh City branch, former central office in Indochina, also completed in 1930; and the branches in Haiphong (completed in 1925) and Nam Định (completed in 1929) among others.

Functions and roles

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The State Bank of Vietnam is a ministry-level body under the administration of the government; the bank governor is a member of the cabinet (equivalent to a minister in the cabinet). The governor is nominated by the prime minister subject to the approval of the National Assembly (Parliament). Vice governors are appointed by the prime minister on the recommendation of the governor. Both governor and vice governors serve a 5-year term. The State Bank of Vietnam defines its principal roles as [1]:

  1. Promote monetary stability and formulate monetary policies.
  2. Promote institutions’ stability and supervise financial institutions.
  3. Provide banking facilities and recommend economic policies to the government.
  4. Provide banking facilities for the financial institutions.
  5. Manage the country's international reserves.
  6. Print and issue banknotes.
  7. Supervise all commercial banks’ activities in Vietnam. Lend the state money to the commercial banks.
  8. Issue government bonds, organise bond auctions.
  9. Be in charge of other roles in monetary management and foreign exchange rates

Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam

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Governor Took office Left office Notes
Nguyễn Lương Bằng 1951 1952 [6]
Lê Viết Lượng 1952 1964 [6]
Tạ Hoàng Cơ 1964 1974 [6]
Đặng Việt Châu 1974 1976 [6]
Hoàng Anh 1976 1977 [6]
Trần Dương 1978 1981 [6]
Nguyễn Duy Gia 1981 1986 [6]
Lữ Minh Châu 1986 1989 [6]
Cao Sỹ Kiêm 1989 1997 [6]
Nguyễn Tấn Dũng 1998 1999 [6]
Lê Đức Thúy 1999 2007 [6]
Nguyễn Văn Giàu 2007 2011 [6]
Nguyễn Văn Bình 2011 2016 [6]
Lê Minh Hưng 2016 2020
Nguyễn Thị Hồng 2020

Controversies and corruption cases

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The former prime minister, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, was a governor of the bank while he held the post of senior deputy prime minister, but later bestowed the governor's post upon Le Duc Thuy. In 2007, controversy surrounded the purchase of the state house by governor Le Duc Thuy when he bought a house belonging to the bank at one tenth of the market value and, the government stopped the deal when the media reported the purchase. There has been criticism of the printing quality of the then new polymer đồng banknotes.[7]

In 2024, a former State Bank of Vietnam official accused of accepting $5.2 million in bribes faced trial in conjunction with the 2022 arrest of Trương Mỹ Lan and the near failure of Sai Gon Joint Stock Commercial Bank.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Weidner, Jan (2017). "The Organisation and Structure of Central Banks" (PDF). Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.
  2. ^ a b "Vietnam's Central Bank ready to steady foreign exchange market". hanoitimes.vn. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Tasks and Mandates of SBV".
  4. ^ World Bank (1 March 1995). Viet Nam Financial Sector Review (PDF). pp. III–V.
  5. ^ ordinance on the State Bank of Vietnam, 23 May 1990 (translation on the website of the Embassy of Vietnam in the United States)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Former Governors".
  7. ^ "Spotlight: Nguyen Van Giau, Vietnam's central bank governor". International Herald Tribune. 11 December 2007.
  8. ^ ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL (5 March 2024). "A Vietnamese property tycoon accused of embezzling $12.5 billion begins her trial". Retrieved 16 March 2024.
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21°01′39″N 105°51′23″E / 21.0274°N 105.8563°E / 21.0274; 105.8563

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