Vietnamese banks catching up with regional peers in service quality

Nguyen Thi Hong

“I am very happy to see that this year, Vietnamese banks appear in many more categories than in the previous years. This shows that Vietnam’s banking sector is making big steps to catch up with that of other countries in the region,” Hong said in her speech addressing the ceremony.

“That Vietnamese banks receive awards of The Asian Banker shows that the Asian Banker recognises the achievements of the Vietnamese government in reforming, that the reform is going in the right direction, and encourages us to continue it,” she added.

SeABank, which leveraged its data analytics capability to offer a more customer-centric auto-loan product, won best auto-loan product in Vietnam.

Sai Gon-Hanoi Bank (SHB) won awards for best deposit product and best brand initiative because it was able to grow its retail deposit size by 32.4 per cent last year through its “Multi-Benefit Savings” deposit product, and SHB’s brand initiative stood out from its peers as it became the first Vietnam bank to enter a strategic partnership with FC Barcelona, one of the world’s top football clubs.

The best credit card product title was awarded to Vietcombank, which led its peers with 21 per cent share of the domestic credit card market. Tien Phong Bank, whose online transactions accounted for 35 per cent of its total retail transactions, was awarded the best internet banking initiative title.

Agribank won the award for best microfinance product in Vietnam, with its microfinance business contributing half of total retail income and with a net interest margin of 2.5 per cent last year. The best mortgage product in Vietnam title was awarded to the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, whose mortgage loans skyrocketed by 88 percent, securing 20 percent of the industry's market share in 2015.

Vietnam International Bank, which effectively utilised various social media platforms to increase the number of engaged users by 26 per cent year-on-year, won best social media initiative in Vietnam.

The best cloud-based project title was awarded to Asia Commercial Bank and Dimension Data, which implemented new infrastructure that provides real time communications and enterprise social interaction on a public cloud platform.

The award for best mobile banking project in Vietnam went to Techcombank and SAP. Techcombank achieved a notable increase in mobile banking market shares and reduced customer churn by half after implementing a new comprehensive mobile banking system with advanced features such as social network integration and e-wallet.

The best treasury management project title went to Techcombank and Misys, as the bank implemented a treasury system that enabled real-time risk management dashboard and alerts.

“As the regulator of banks, the SBV always encourages banks to innovate in order to increase efficiency and quality of services to contribute to the country’s economic growth. The SBV commits to facilitating the operation of commercial banks in Vietnam,” Hong said.

The complete list of award winners is as follows: