Vietnam Banks Association's working visit to Japan

On October 17, the VNBA delegation had a working session with the Japan Bankers Association (JBA).

At the meeting, Mr. Masayuki Saegusa, Deputy Head of Planning and Coordination Department, JBA, introduced an overview of the operating model and functions of this agency.

Accordingly, JBA is an industry association organization with the participation of banks and parent corporations of Japanese banks. The current Chairman of JBA is Mr. Akihiro Fukutome, President and CEO of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).

As of October 2024, JBA has a total of 241 members, of which, some JBA member banks have branches and subsidiaries abroad.

JBA operates based on 4 main functions: Planning the operation of payment systems; Promoting transactions for consumers; Enhancing compliance and promoting initiatives related to ESG and SDG (sustainable development goals; Supporting the operations of member banks).

The recent initiatives that the JBA has focused on include:

First, promoting a paradigm shift towards Japan’s recovery. Specifically, supporting the improvement of people’s financial literacy and ensuring customer-oriented business operations; supporting startups and other businesses to create a positive loop for the recovery of entrepreneurship and corporate restructuring; continuing efforts to address issues of sustainable development and society.

Second, promoting safe, secure and convenient financial infrastructure for the future. Focusing on promoting digitalization as well as tackling financial crimes. At the same time, continuing to research financial infrastructure towards the future, a society where all data is connected.

Third, developing a strong and resilient global financial system by closely supporting member banks in preventing and combating money laundering; continue to research Basel III to prevent widespread financial crises and unevenly distributed risks.

In addition, Mr. Masayuki Saegusa also shared information about the operational structure, organizational chart, and functions of each committee, department, and division under the JBA.

“We support the operations of member banks by closely coordinating with member banks, state management agencies, and relevant partners. In addition, we research and provide comments on issues related to the banking system, including policies... At the same time, we provide guidance and implementation methods for operational issues or global solutions to domestic banks...”, said a JBA representative.

After listening to the JBA's sharing, VNBA Vice President and General Secretary Nguyen Quoc Hung commented that JBA plays an important role in the Japanese banking system.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung also highly appreciated the initiatives that JBA has recently implemented. These are the contents that VNBA is very interested in.

With a long history of operation and the issuance of many sets of rules during its operation, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung asked JBA to share and exchange experiences and knowledge in the process of issuing sets of rules, especially related to payment activities, clearing, governance risks, system safety or anti-money laundering...

At the meeting, the two sides also discussed issues related to digital transformation in payments; the Japanese Government's policies to support and accelerate the ESG process at banks in particular and the business community in general; issuing green bonds...

At the end of the meeting, Vice Chairman and General Secretary Nguyen Quoc Hung acknowledged the information shared by JBA and expressed his hope that the two sides will have deeper cooperation in the future.

During the trip, the VNBA delegation visited MUFG Bank. Welcoming the delegation was Mr. Masahiro Endo, Director of Digital Strategy Department, MUFG Bank. Previously, in February 2024, MUFG Bank Hanoi also became a member of VNBA.

At the meeting, Mr. Masahiro Endo gave a presentation on the topic "Appropriate business strategy in the digital transformation era", sharing MUFG Bank's vision for digital transformation, the digitalization process at the Bank's branches, ways to digitize business activities, and factors to develop a sales strategy through digital transformation. In addition, there was information about MUFG Bank's ecosystem and network of operations in Asia.

MUFG Bank representatives also shared more about the topic of digital signatures and introduced Biz SIGN, a digital signature service provided by MUFG Bank that allows customers to transact with the bank and apply for loans online. This product was released by MUFG Bank on April 11, 2022 and is completely free of charge.

On behalf of the delegation, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung acknowledged and highly appreciated the content shared at the meeting. "These contents are all good experiences for Vietnamese commercial banks to learn and apply to improve operational efficiency in the future," Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung emphasized.

Also within the framework of the working program, the delegation visited SMBC Group. Receiving the delegation were Mr. Takeshi Kimoto, Executive Director in charge of Business Development in Asia, SMBC and experts.

At the meeting, Mr. Takeshi Kimoto introduced the organizational structure and operating model of SMBC, one of Japan's leading financial groups. Notably, SMBC has recently officially become a strategic shareholder of VPBank. Previously, VPBank sold 49% of its charter capital at FE Credit to SMBC Group.

Mr. Hiroaki Taira, Founder and CEO of SMBC CloudSign, a member company of SMBC, shared information related to the topic of digital signatures.

According to Mr. Hiroaki Taira, SMBC CloudSign services allow users to upload completed contracts to the cloud, then the counterparty can confirm and approve the contract online, and finally execute the contract signing. This process helps speed up the contract signing while reducing costs and making it easier to find detailed information about the contract. Digital signatures play an important role in this process.

SMBC CloudSign representatives also exchanged detailed information about the application of digital signatures in the online contract signing process, practical cases that occur as well as solutions to overcome risks.

After listening to the sharing from SMBC, Vice Chairman and General Secretary Nguyen Quoc Hung welcomed SMBC's investment in the Vietnamese financial market, especially SMBC's presence at VPBank and FE Credit, two member organizations of VNBA.

Regarding the topic of digital signatures, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung said that the practical experiences shared by SMBC will be extremely valuable knowledge for VNBA in the process of making recommendations for policies related to this field in Vietnam.

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