The two-day event was co-organised by the Information Technology Department of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the International Data Group (IDG) to discuss market trends and insights and engage in business opportunities.

Featuring the theme “Risk Management & Banking Development during the Global Economic Downturn”, Banking Vietnam 2009 is focusing on the three hottest issues, including banking infrastructures, secure banking technologies in times of turmoil, and investment in information technology (IT) to modernise banking and payment services. These issues are of major concern to the  entire Vietnamsese banking system which must modernise and be inter-connected.

The event is to help promote and enhance banks’ competitive advantages, and to explore how to narrow the technological and knowledge gap between domestic banks and international banks.

The participants at the Conference talked about the reality of the global economic downturn and discussed strategies to prepare for an economic recovery.

In the current crisis, every country has responded by implementing various economic stimulus packages. Governments, through their State banks, have rescued banks with capital injections, sustained jobs and boosted public sector investment to prevent the collapse of the private financial and banking system. The Vietnamese government has itself delivered strong and appropriate measures to prevent further economic recession.

According to Nguyen Toan Thang, SBV Deputy Governor, the Banking Innovation Project and Interbank e-Payment system as well as sub-projects conducted by SBV have achieved considerable results. With the completion of phase I of the project, the SBV’s core banking system has been comprehensively overhauled, and has resulted in a higher throughput and value of transactions. Phase II (from 2003 to 2010), will link up all the 63 provinces in a single network and will become the backbone of the nation’s banking system.

According to the financial insights of the IDG, despite tightening budgets, banks are increasing investments in technology to be more efficient and less costly in operation. The 10 trends of development strategies in the Asia-Pacific region are, IT optimisation, risk management and compliance, a customer centred approach, payments, supporting the growth of deposits, core banking changes, outsourcing and alternative delivery models, cash and liquidity management, security and information integrity, and mobile financial services.

Tsuzuri Sakamaki, a JICA Advisor to the State Bank of Vietnam, pointed out the rapidly increasing financial risks, describing them as challenges lying in wait for the Vietnamese banking system. She said that the recent economic recession has forced banks and financial organisations to optimize their resources, and cut costs while ensuring effective operations. Under the pressure of competition in Vietnam’s financial market, banks have had to diversify their services, expand their markets and attract customers to enhance their competitiveness.

May 2008 saw a leap forward in payments systems. The two biggest ATM alliances BankNet and SmartLink got together to deliver a wider range of payment services. The Banking Innovation Project is one of the most essential projects in the ICT’s development strategy in 2006-2010 established by the Vietnam Government. The project aims to transform the traditional payment practices of financial institutions and individuals nation-wide. This will enhance competitiveness within the whole economy as well as the banking system and meet the nation’s development goals.

 Meanwhile, an exhibition is taking place alongside the Conference to display the lastest IT solutions and products, as well as modern banking services supplied by leading banks and IT providers from both inside and outside of the country.