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.^[5] 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"^[6]

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. 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

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]