Forced reform to improve the quality of banking services

(Baonghean) - On July 21, in Hanoi, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) held a conference to promote administrative procedure reform (APR) and improve the quality of products and services of credit institutions (CIs) for people and businesses. At the conference, SBV Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu discussed with the press the basic orientations and solutions to further improve the quality of products and services in the fields of banking activities in the coming time. Nghe An Newspaper respectfully introduces to readers.

Transaction at VIB Nghe An International Bank. Photo: Thu Huyen

PV.Dear comrade, among the key tasks of administrative reform, administrative procedure reform is the task that the State Bank pays great attention to. So what has the State Bank done to carry out this task?

Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu:Implementing the State Administrative Reform Master Program for the period 2011-2020, the SBV has issued the administrative reform plan for the period 2012-2015, focusing on 6 key groups of tasks, including: institutional reform on currency and banking; administrative procedure reform, reform and consolidation of the SBV's organizational apparatus; building and improving the quality of civil servants and public employees; public finance reform and administrative modernization based on the application of information technology (IT). Annually, the SBV issues administrative reform plans based on the concretization of tasks and has documents directing and urging the implementation of tasks according to the plan. Administrative reform is always an important content that is reviewed and evaluated for quality and progress in all weekly, monthly, quarterly meetings and meetings summarizing and summarizing the results of the SBV's work performance.

Among the key tasks of administrative reform, the State Bank has identified: Reforming administrative procedures is a task that needs utmost attention. Since 2010, the State Bank has simplified hundreds of administrative procedures to facilitate people and businesses in administrative transactions with the State Bank. However, with the specific characteristics of direct administrative procedures between organizations and individuals with the State Bank rarely arising, but transaction procedures between credit institutions and people and businesses take place frequently, the State Bank does not allow credit institutions to consider innovation in service provision processes and procedures as an inherent requirement to improve competitiveness and business efficiency. Furthermore, the State Bank has directed credit institutions to enhance innovation, diversify product and service types, reduce documents and procedures to improve service quality for people and businesses, considering this as one of the contents of administrative procedure reform in banking activities.

PV.According to you, do the results of innovation and improvement in processes, procedures and product and service quality of credit institutions meet practical requirements?

Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu:Faced with the need for strong innovation and reform, especially since 2011, along with the efforts and positive results in implementing the Project on Restructuring and Handling Bad Debts, the system of credit institutions has had fundamental changes in scale, service quality, and high-tech products and services provided to people and businesses. Credit institutions have actively implemented innovation and improved processes and procedures for providing banking products and services, invested in technical facilities, improved professional qualifications and service capacity of staff, established and effectively operated a risk management system; built internal standards on service quality, committed to ensuring service quality, and built internal customer care mechanisms.

With the goal of taking customers as the center, products and services must meet the requirements of friendliness, ease of implementation, and transactions on an information network environment with high security. Specifically, in improving and innovating the lending process, many credit institutions have innovated and improved in the direction of simplifying procedures, reducing hassles for borrowers while still ensuring loan safety. Many banks have improved and shortened credit granting products and processes compared to the previous time, typically the form of credit granting according to the limit has reduced the loan application and processing time (according to reports of some credit institutions, the processing time for a loan is only 1-1.5 hours).

Savings deposit procedures at many credit institutions have been improved in the form of one-stop transactions, creating favorable conditions for customers to shorten transaction time; people can now also choose many forms of online savings deposits (Internet Banking, Mobile Banking) to be able to transact anytime, anywhere... In addition, banks have also improved the process of money transfer services, remittances, card services, cash services, other payment services, or improved risk control, internal processes, built internal customer care mechanisms...

One of the highlights in this work is that banks have diversified and improved the quality of banking products and services. In addition to developing retail services, banks also provide a variety of financial products and services, develop internal standards and commit to service quality as well as implement commitment terms... In general, most credit institutions thoroughly follow the administrative reform policy of the Government and the State Bank. Accordingly, in their operations, credit institutions focus on innovating and improving processes and procedures for providing banking products and services, creating positive changes to facilitate customers in the process of accessing and transacting with banks.

The remarkable result is that the number of services provided is increasingly diverse to meet the increasing needs of customers; infrastructure and IT have developed remarkably, creating an important basis for improving business processes, developing new services, enhancing convenience as well as customer service quality and shortening the time to process customer requests. The processes of lending, depositing money, transferring money, remittances, payments... are implemented in the direction of simplifying procedures, making them more transparent on the basis of reducing inconvenience to customers but still ensuring operational safety and compliance with legal regulations... The above improvements have contributed to reforming administrative procedures, ensuring strictness in banking operations, contributing to effectively connecting banks with customers.

PV.It seems that despite all the efforts, the banking system is still being complained about complicated procedures and the quality of service not meeting the needs of the people and businesses. Could you tell us what the upcoming solution of the State Bank is, comrade?

Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu:Although we have made great efforts and achieved many good results that are worthy of recognition from the people and businesses, we frankly admit that, in addition to innovations and improvements in processes and procedures for providing banking products and services, there are still limitations that need to be overcome. For example, the issue of risk management still has many shortcomings, because modern banking services are being used more and more, which is not only a success for banks, but also a big challenge for some banks when they do not have the ability to manage risks effectively, do not have enough measures to prevent fraud, security, and safety, then risks will occur for the bank. Or the application of technology has been promoted, but the general level of technology of credit institutions is not high, the level of technology is not uniform. Training and coaching for staff on products and services, communication skills, sales skills, marketing and customer care is still limited...

Therefore, the fundamental orientation and solutions to further improve the quality of products and services in the banking activities of the State Bank need to be seriously implemented by credit institutions. Firstly, it is to innovate and improve the quality of management and operation of banking activities towards increasing proactiveness and flexibility. Strengthening and perfecting the organizational structure of the operating apparatus and the management and business operation system, building modern management processes in all aspects of operations. Continuing to perfect the internal inspection and control system towards improving quality and efficiency, ensuring safety in operations, assessing possible risks to immediately deploy preventive measures.

Second, it is focusing on improving the quality of traditional services, rapidly developing modern banking services on the basis of modernizing technology associated with operational risk management. Third, it is focusing on investing in upgrading, building and effectively operating the infrastructure system, continuously innovating advanced and modern technology to effectively serve the upgrading and improvement of business processes and product and service provision processes. Along with that is promoting the attraction and development of high-quality human resources; consolidating and strengthening the relationship between banks and customers in the direction of cooperation for mutual development; actively communicating widely, enhancing publicity and transparency of information to consolidate and enhance social trust and consensus with monetary and banking activities.

PV.Thank you very much, comrade!

Red River