On the morning of July 18, 2025, in Khanh Hoa, the Vietnam Banks' Association (VNBA), in coordination with the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), organized the Workshop "Improving the Efficiency of Resolving Cases Related to Credit Institutions at the People's Courts". The workshop was attended by Mr. Nguyen Van Tien, Deputy Chief Justice of the SPC; Mr. Doan Thai Son, Deputy Governor of the SBV; along with leaders from functional departments/bureaus of the Supreme People's Procuracy, the Ministry of Justice, the SBV, People's Courts of provinces and cities, and member credit institutions (CIs).
Mr. Pham Toan Vuong, Chairman of the VNBA and General Director of Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
In his opening speech, Mr. Pham Toan Vuong, Chairman of the VNBA and General Director of Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), emphasized the necessity of having clarifications and precedents to guide the unified application of law, thereby removing risks and obstacles faced by the banking system in handling disputes at court.
The VNBA Chairman acknowledged and highly appreciated the significant contributions of the Court sector in adjudication and dispute resolution, which has played an important role in helping the banking sector achieve encouraging results in its operations, especially in bad debt resolution recently. However, with the strong growth and expanding scale of the financial and banking market since 2020, the number and complexity of dispute cases related to CIs have continued to increase.
The VNBA Chairman stated that, based on feedback from member CIs, many difficulties and shortcomings have arisen in the practical resolution of cases at court. Prominent issues include:
- Prolonged case resolution times.
- Difficulties in accepting lawsuits and determining court jurisdiction.
- Challenges in identifying and summoning all relevant rights holders and obligors.
- Inadequacies in the process of on-site inspection and appraisal of collateral.
Notably, two groups of legal issues posing significant risks to banks are obstacles related to regulations protecting bona fide third parties and disputes concerning land use rights of households as collateral. Additionally, the return and handling of material evidence that is collateral in criminal cases remain major bottlenecks.
VNBA Chairman Pham Toan Vuong emphasized that "some causes stem from the credit institutions themselves, but others are due to differing legal interpretations and evidence assessments among legal proceedings officers. This has led to widely varied resolution approaches, posing significant risks for lending banks and those accepting collateral".
In anticipation of synchronized and unified solutions, given the current situation, the head of the VNBA suggested that prosecuting agencies need to provide unified legal guidance for emerging situations, not only in civil and commercial business relations but also in the resolution of related criminal cases.
Evaluating the workshop's content as highly important, the VNBA Chairman expressed hope that it would create a frank and open forum for CIs, judicial bodies, and state management agencies to jointly identify the current situation and legal issues where differing opinions still exist between courts and banks. The workshop also aimed to share experiences and lessons learned from practical case handling to prevent risks for CIs, particularly in the appraisal and signing of credit and collateral contracts. Furthermore, it sought to propose specific solutions for submission to the Council of Judges and the Chief Justice of the SPC for consideration and issuance of guiding documents and precedents, aiming for uniform application of law across the entire system.
The VNBA Chairman expressed hope that, with the participation of high-ranking leaders from the SPC, the SBV, and judicial bodies, the workshop would listen and fully record practical difficulties. From there, all parties would work together to find effective solutions, helping to accelerate the progress of collateral handling and bad debt resolution for CIs, successfully implementing directives from the Government and the SBV, and contributing to the soundness of the national financial system.
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