Nam A Bank champions Outstanding Bank for Green Credit Award 2019

Deputy general director Le Quang Quang on behalf of Nam A Bank receives the Outstanding Bank for Green Credit Award 2019

The annual Vietnam Outstanding Banking Awards 2019 event, co-organised by the International Data Group (IDG) and the Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA), seeks to honour banks with eminent contributions to the sustainable development of the local economy.

The prestigious accolade also recognises banks’ constant efforts and notable achievements in finance and banking and national economic development.

The Outstanding Bank for Green Credit is one of the integral components of the Vietnam Outstanding Banking Awards 2019 and is awarded based on a set of criteria by an independent judging panel consisting of 15 members who represent diverse government agencies, sectors, and business associations operating in finance, banking, and ICT.

Along with its high scores on the criteria, Nam A Bank was recognised for doing a prominent job in embedding green products into its loan portfolio; introducing incentives in terms of interest rate or collateral for loans that feed green projects; deploying environmental and social risk management systems in green credit provision; and applying environmental standards when approving loans to greenfield projects, among others.

Since early 2019, Nam A Bank has been rolling out a large-scale community-oriented project “I Choose Green Living” which encompasses a wide range of activities to protect the environment.

Via the project, the bank has called on the people to take action for energy efficiency and choose environmentally-friendly materials in their living space.

Simultaneously, the bank has been teaming up with diverse organisations for the joint implementation of green building projects.

Activities included the “Green days” initiative when the bank’s employees took part in cleaning streets, painting walls, and planting trees in Da Lat city in the Central Highlands region; propagating green culture at schools in Quang Ninh and Long An; or accompanying the “Green Summer” campaign of the Vietnam Youth Federation with activities like cleaning and dredging canals in Ho Chi Minh City.

These activities have garnered warm responses from the community and have been popularising green living practice among the people.

In doing business, Nam A Bank has rolled-out a variety of support programmes such as lending for green development.

It is the first bank in Vietnam outside the state-owned banking system to sign a co-operative deal with the Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF) to deploy a green credit programme that matches the green bank development orientation of the government and the central bank.

The programme aims to earmark concessionary loans for socially- and environmentally-friendly projects and production plans. With preferential interest rate from 7 per cent per annum only, the programme has helped the customers in the south-eastern, central, and Central Highlands regions to push up production, business, and develop in a green and sustainable manner.

Simultaneously, Nam A Bank is perfecting new products to catch up with increasingly diversified requirements from customers for green credit packages.

The bank is launching a very attractive promotion programme called “Green birthday with Nam A Bank” with multiple green gifts. Accordingly, by placing deposits at Nam A Bank, customers will have the chance to win energy efficient Mazda CX8, Vinfast electric scooters, Karofi water purifiers, Sharp air purifiers, and thousands of other gifts.

“During 27 years of development, our bank has always attached business to community-oriented activities, particularly the implementation of projects that care for the environment,” said a bank representative.

“The Outstanding Bank for Green Credit Award highlights Nam A Bank’s aspiration to live up to its slogan on continuing the research, investment, and development of new products and services to keep up with burgeoning demand for green credit from customers, from there helping the bank to leapfrog in scale and quality in the financial market,” said the representative.