Speaking at the meeting, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung said that the Drafting Team had basically completed the draft after a thorough review of the form. However, he requested that the draft be revised to become more concise and clear, ensuring consistency as a normative document.
Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung - Vice President and General Secretary of VNBA
Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung also requested that the drafting team add regulations on conduct in debt collection for institutional customers, due to many differences compared to individual customers. In addition, concepts need to be standardized, not redefining terms already in the law and not expanding the concept of "relatives" of customers beyond the scope of the law to avoid legal risks.
Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung especially emphasized that debt collection activities must be carried out in a civilized and polite manner, with notices and minutes of work, and absolutely not causing illegal pressure on customers.
Lawyer Nguyen Hung Quang
Reporting on the drafting process, Lawyer Nguyen Hung Quang, representative of the focal unit, said that initially, the Code of Conduct only directed towards consumer lending. However, after receiving comments from members, the scope was expanded to cover all lending activities of credit institutions.
To date, the Drafting Committee has received nearly 200 comments from more than 30 credit institutions through two rounds of comments, and most of them have been accepted and revised. The second draft has been shortened and made more concise with 11 provisions. The approach of the draft is to clarify legal regulations, address "gaps", and improve standards of conduct to guide the behavior of credit institutions.
At the discussion session, representatives of banks and financial companies highly appreciated the necessity of the Code of Conduct in creating a common, civilized and law-abiding standard of conduct.
Many opinions suggested that the Code of Conduct should have clear components such as "must comply", "must not be implemented", and "should not be implemented". In particular, it is necessary to clearly separate the codes of conduct for individual customers and institutional customers.
For individual customers: It is necessary to focus on civilized behavior, protecting honor and personal data, such as not calling at night or putting pressure on unrelated relatives.
For organizational customers: It is necessary to clarify permitted and unauthorized behaviors, such as how to work with private business owners compared to representatives of joint stock/LLC companies. All debt collection procedures must have official notices and minutes.
Delegates also suggested that it is necessary to clearly list behaviors prohibited by law (threats, terrorism...) to increase transparency.
Concluding the meeting, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung affirmed that the Code of Conduct will be a common standard for the industry, helping to unify credit institutions but not replacing legal regulations. However, credit institutions can still issue internal regulations in accordance with practice.
The Code of Conduct needs to be carefully developed, harmonizing between protecting the legitimate rights of credit institutions and the legitimate rights and interests of customers. The drafting committee will continue to seek opinions from major banks to complete the final draft. He also said that the development of the Code of Conduct is not only an internal matter of the banking industry but also a message to society that debt collection activities of the banking industry always aim for transparency, legality and humanity, while promoting the responsibility of debt repayment of borrowers.
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