Switzerland supports Vietnam in building capacity for bank executives

On July 2, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyen Thi Hong and the Ambassador of Switzerland to Vietnam Ivo Sieber signed the bilateral agreement for the new Swiss Bank Executive Training programme (Swiss BET).

Ivo Sieber, Ambassador of Switzerland to Vietnam

The programme is implemented by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and aims to transfer modern banking know-how to Vietnamese bank executives. The programme will run from 2022 to 2027 and Switzerland will provide support with a grant of CHF5 million (around $5.43 million).

The Vietnamese financial sector and the banking industry, in particular, play a central role in the national ambition to sustain the high economic growth in the coming years. As the sector is still prone to external instabilities, narrowing the gap with international banking standards is of strategic importance.

The Swiss BET programme offers the instruments required by the Vietnamese banking and financial industry to improve management practices. Building on the success of the previous programme phases, Swiss BET will be jointly governed by the SBV and SECO. The Swiss Finance Institute (SFI), the project-implementing agency, will provide expert training. The SFI is Switzerland’s centre of expertise on fundamental research, doctoral training, knowledge exchange, and continuing education in the fields of banking and finance.

The SFI will train over 240 Vietnamese bank executives and hundreds of central bank staff on the latest state-of-the-art banking management practices. Upon graduation, they will advance the modernisation of banking in Vietnam by applying their newly acquired skills and technical competencies in their respective institutions.

Nguyen Thi Hong, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam

SECO’s main goal is to support Vietnam in achieving market-oriented, sustainable growth. SECO’s cooperation programme in 2021-2024 will focus on promoting reliable economic framework conditions and an innovation-friendly business environment.

Building a sound financial sector is among the top priorities of the country programme. Swiss BET is complementing other SECO-supported programmes and the new collaboration is a model for the long-standing and fruitful cooperation between the SBV and SECO.