On February 11, 2019, the first working day after the 2019 Lunar New Year Holiday, Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), on behalf of the SBV Board of Management, visited and had a working session with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an organization of the World Bank Group.

At the meeting, Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh congratulated the IFC on its achievements in 2018 and thanked for its support for Vietnam’s banking system in general and the SBV in particular. The IFC has always co-operated with the banking sector over the past time, which is reflected by the fact that the IFC's investment portfolio accounts for 76% of the total outstanding loans to the banking sector. The highlight of the IFC activities in 2018 was that the IFC has spent USD 200 million from its own capital and the mobilized capital from its partners to lend to Tien Phong Joint stock Commercial Bank and the Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank, thereby supporting those banks to further expand their operations of long-term financing to small and medium enterprises and woman-owned or woman-run businesses. In addition, the IFC has collaborated with the SBV to successfully organize a Seminar on introducing green bond products issued by the commercial banks; together with Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee held a seminar to introduce investment products of the IFC to FDI enterprises in Thanh Hoa province and worked with some large FDI enterprises in this province.
For his part, Mr. Kyle Kelhofer expressed his deep gratitude for the SBV’s directions and close coordination of the SBV’s International Cooperation Department with the IFC in 2018. This was the first time the IFC had the honor to welcome the SBV leaders to visit on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet). Mr. Kyle was also pleased to report to the SBV Deputy Governor on the successes that the IFC had achieved in the previous year. Specifically, the year 2018 marked an outstanding year in the IFC's operations in Vietnam with the mobilized capital from the development partners committed to Vietnam of more than USD 1 billion, the largest level ever for Vietnam.
As a development organization supporting the private sector, the IFC is committed to continuing its mission in Vietnam, further supporting the overall economic development of the country, contributing to the attainment of the World Bank's overall goal of poverty reduction and shared prosperity. In the coming time, following the local deployment activities (Ho Chi Minh City), the IFC would continue to work closely with the SBV to expand its investment activities in the priority areas of the Government, especially in the private sector in other locations, as well as continuing to accompany with the commercial banks to implement the Scheme on Developing Green Banking in Vietnam.
On the occasion of the Lunar New Year, the SBV Deputy Governor extended the best wishes to all of the IFC staff for health and success, and hoped that the IFC would continue to work closely with the SBV to accompany with the banking industry to achieve the objectives in the next years./.
Source: sbv.gov.vn