Banking

Robust economic growth, the easing of restrictions on foreign bank ownership and increasing technological sophistication have added to the dynamism of the Vietnamese banking sector in recent years, as the industry puts the mini-crisis of 2012 behind it. Recent years have been characterised by substantial credit growth, as well as ongoing measures to address bad debt. Banking penetration is relatively low – only around 30% of the population have a bank account – providing ample space for growth. Vietnam’s strong GDP growth outlook is the single biggest upside factor for the country’s growing banking sector.

This chapter contains a roundtable with Nghiem Xuan Thanh, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam; Phan Duc Tu, CEO, Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam; Natasha Ansell, Country Officer, Citibank Vietnam; and Pham Hong Hai, CEO, HSBC Vietnam.