Decree No. 96/2008/ND-CP of August 26, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of The State Bank of Vietnam.

DECREE

DEFINING THE FUNCTIONS, TASKS, POWERS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE STATE BANK OF VIETNAM

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the December 12, 1997 Law on the State Bank of Vietnam and the June 17, 2003 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 178/ 2007/ND-CP of December 3, 2007, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structures of ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

At the proposal of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam,

DECREES:

Article 1.- Position and functions

The State Bank of Vietnam (below referred to as the State Bank) is a ministerial-level agency of the Government, which performs the state management of monetary and banking activities and functions as the Central Bank of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and performs the state management of public services under its management.

Article 2.- Tasks and powers

The State Bank has the tasks and powers defined in the Government's Decree No. 178/ 2007/ND-CP of December 3, 2007, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structures of ministries and ministerial-level agencies, and the following specific tasks and powers:

1. To submit to the Government drafts of laws and resolutions of the National Assembly, drafts of ordinances and resolutions of the National Assembly Standing Committee, draft decrees of the Government under its approved annual law-making programs and plans, and projects and schemes as assigned by the Government or the Prime Minister.

2. To submit to the Prime Minister long-term, five-year and annual development strategies, plannings and plans; national target programs, programs of action and important projects and works in the banking sector; drafts of decisions, directives and other documents within the Prime Minister's directing and administering competence in accordance with law.

3. To promulgate circulars, decisions and directives in its management domains,

4. To direct, guide, examine, and organize the implementation of. legal documents and approved strategies, plannings, programs and important projects and works under its management; to provide law information, propagation, dissemination and education in its state management domains.

5. To formulate draft national monetary policies and submit them to the Government for submission to the National Assembly; to use interest rates, exchange rates, compulsory reserves, open market transactions and other instruments for implementing national monetary policies: to submit to the Government schemes on development of the system of banks and credit institutions.

6. To grant and revoke establishment and operation licenses of credit institutions, except cases to be decided by the Prime Minister: to grant and revoke banking operation licenses of other organizations; to decide on the dissolution or renaming and approve the separation, split, consolidation or merger of credit institutions; to guide conditions on the establishment and operation of credit institutions in accordance with law.

7. To examine, inspect and supervise banking operations; to control credit; to handle violations of law in the monetary and banking sector in accordance with law.

8. Regarding foreign exchange management:

a/ To manage current transactions, capital transactions and use of foreign exchange in the Vietnamese territory according to law;

b/To manage state foreign exchange reserves: to control international reserves;

c/ To determine exchanges rates between Vietnam dong and foreign currencies: to organize and develop the foreign currency market; to formulate and submit exchange rate mechanisms to the Prime Minister for decision.

9. Regarding the formulation of international payment balance:

a/ To collect, synthesize, formulate, forecast and monitor the implementation of Vietnam's international payment balance; to report on the implementation of Vietnam's international payment balance according to law;

b/ To act as the sole supplier of data on

Vietnam's international payment balance to domestic and foreign organizations in accordance with law.

10. Regarding the management of foreign loan borrowing and debt repayment by residents being economic organizations, credit institutions or individuals under law:

a/To perform the state management of foreign loan borrowing and debt repayment by enterprises and other organizations in the public sector; to supervise and monitor foreign loan borrowing and debt repayment in the private sector; to guide and examine the guarantee for foreign loans by commercial banks and other organizations licensed to provide guarantee for foreign loans in accordance with law;

b/To assume the prime responsibility for, and collaborate with concerned agencies in, formulating annual limits of foreign commercial loans of enterprises and other organizations in the public sector and forecast annual limits of foreign loans in the private sector nationwide, then send them to the Ministry of Finance for synthesis and submission to the Prime Minister for approval;

c/To assume the prime responsibility for. and collaborate with the Ministry of Finance in. administering the Prime Minister-approved annual limits of foreign commercial loans of enterprises and other organizations;

d/To annually review the situation of foreign loan borrowing and debt repayment by enterprises and other organizations in the public and private sectors: to report it to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance for inclusion in the annual national situation of foreign loan borrowing and debt repayment:

e/ To guide and organize the registration of foreign loans (including government-guaranteed loans) by enterprises and other organizations in the public and private sectors;

f/ To supervise monetary flows related to foreign loan borrowing and debt repayment for synthesizing the international payment balance and administering monetary and foreign exchange management policies;

g/ To establish a system for early warning enterprises' debt risks;

h/ To perform other tasks and exercise other powers regarding the management of foreign loan borrowing and debt repayment in accordance with law.

11. Regarding the management of loan provision and foreign debt recovery by the Government, economic organizations and credit institutions:

a/ To collaborate with the Ministry of Finance in submitting to the Prime Minister for decision loan levels and sources, lending forms, borrowers, and mechanisms for managing the Government's loan provision and foreign debt repayment;

b/ To specify conditions, entities, forms and management mechanisms for loan provision and foreign debt recovery by residents being credit institutions;

c/To specify licensing conditions, procedures and order and submit to the Prime Minister to decide to allow residents being economic organizations to provide foreign loans and recover foreign debts;

d/ To perform other tasks and exercise other powers regarding loan provision and foreign debt recovery according to law.

11. Regarding the negotiation and conclusion of and accession to monetary and banking treaties:

a/ To collaborate with concerned agencies in preparing negotiation contents, entering into negotiations on and concluding or acceding to treaties on ODA with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund as authorized by the Government;

b/To regularly review and notify the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and concerned agencies of the capital withdrawal and payment via the system of bank accounts of ODA-funded programs and projects.

13. To represent the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at international banks and monetary organizations as authorized by the State President or the Government in:

a/ Functioning as a member at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB). the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Investment Bank (IIB) and the International Bank for Economic Cooperation (IBEC);

b/ Acting as a focal point to collaborate with concerned ministries and branches in implementing IMF, WB, ADB, IIB and IBEC regulations and policies and macroeconomic stabilization programs implemented by IMF, WB and ADB in Vietnam: to supply regular or irregular information and data as required by the aforesaid organizations; to propose to the Government or the Prime Minister policies and measures to develop and expand cooperative relations with these organizations.

14. Regarding the performance of operations of the Central Bank:

a/ To organize money printing, minting preservation and transportation: to conduct operations of money issuance, withdrawal, replacement and destruction:

b/To reallocate capital for providing short-term credit and payment instruments for the economy:

c/ To administer the monetary market; to conduct open market operations:

d/ To organize a via-bank payment system; to perioral the state management of payment activities: to provide payment services; to organize the implementation of policies to encourage, expand and develop non-cash payment after they are approved by competent authorities;

e/ To act as an agent and perform banking services for the State Treasury;

f/ To organize a banking information system and provide banking information services; to manage credit information organizations; to analyze and rank the credit of Vietnamese enterprises;

g/ To conduct other operations of the Central Bank.

15. To decide to approve, and organize the implementation of. investment projects according to its competence; to evaluate and examine the implementation of banking investment projects in accordance with law.

16. To manage allocated finance and assets in accordance with law; to use deductions from revenues generated in foreign exchange, monetary and banking operations for professional activities according to law.

17 To enter into international cooperation in the monetary and banking sector in accordance with law.

18. To organize and direct scientific research, application of scientific and technological advances and environmental protection in the banking sector according to law.

19. To decide on specific policies and measures concerning, and direct the implementation of, operation mechanisms of public-service organizations in the monetary and banking sector; to manage and direct the operation of non-business organizations within its competence in accordance with law.

20. To represent the owner of state capital portions at state capital-funded enterprises in:

a/ Formulating schemes on the establishment, reorganization or ownership transformation of state enterprises under its management and submit them to the Prime Minister for approval and direction of their implementation after they are approved:

b/ Approving according to its competence or submitting to the Prime Minister for approval organization and operation charters of state enterprises operating in the banking sector;

c/ Submitting to the Prime Minister for appointment or appointing according to its competence titles of Management Board member, general director or deputy general director of state credit institutions or other state enterprises under its management.

21. To guide and examine the operation of associations and non-governmental organizations in branches or domains under its management; to handle or propose competent state agencies to handle law violations committed by associations or non-governmental organizations according to law.

22. To inspect, examine, settle complaints and denunciations and handle according to its competence violations of law in the monetary and banking sector; to prevent and combat corruption, negative practices, red tape and authoritativeness; to practice thrift and combat waste according to law.

23. To decide on, and direct the implementation of, its administrative reform program according to the objectives and contents of the Government's administrative reform program and as directed by the Prime Minister: to decide on and direct the renewal of the working style, modernization of working offices and application of information technology to its operation.

24. To manage professional ranks of banking employees:

a/ To organize employee rank promotion exams; to promulgate professional criteria for employee ranks under its assigned or decentralized management according to law;

b/ To formulate professional criteria for banking employee ranks for the Ministry of Home Affairs to promulgate.

25. To manage its organizational apparatus and payroll; to recruit, train, retrain, employ, appoint, relieve from office, transfer and rotate cadres and public employees under its management and implement regimes on retirement, commendation, disciplining and salaries, and other regimes and policies towards these cadres and public employees.

26. To submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation mechanisms on salaries, recruitment and employment of cadres and public employees suitable to its specific characteristics.

27. To perform other tasks and exercise other powers as assigned by the Government or the Prime Minister according to law.

Article 3.- Organizational structure

1. The Monetary Policy Department.

2. The Department for Foreign Exchange Management.

3. The Payment Department.

4. The Credit Department.

5. The Department for Monetary Forecasts and Statistics.

6. The International Cooperation Department.

7. The Internal Audit Department.

8. The Legal Department.

9. The Finance-Accounting Department.

10. The Organization and Personnel Department.

11. The Emulation-Commendation Department.

12. The Office.

13. The Information Technology Department.

14. The Issuance and Vault Department.

15. The Administration Department.

16. The Transaction Bureau.

17. The Agency for Banking Inspection and Supervision.

18. Branches in provinces and centrally run cities.

19. Ho Chi Minh City-based representative office.

20. The Institute for Banking Strategies.

21. The Credit Information Center.

22. The Banking Times.

23. The Banking Magazine.

24. The Banking Cadres Retraining School.

Organizations defined in Clauses 1 thru 19 of this Article are those assisting the State Bank Governor in performing the state management function and the function as the Central Bank; organizations defined in Clauses 20 thru 24 of this Article are non-business organizations under the State Bank.

Organizations within the State Bank's organizational structure may organize their own sections, the Issuance and Vault Department and the Information Technology Department have their Sub-Departments based in Ho Chi Minh City.

The State Bank Governor shall submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation a decision defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Agency for Banking Inspection and Supervision and a decision promulgating a list of other non-business units under the State Bank.

Article 4.- Implementation effect

1. This Decree takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO" and replaces the Government's Decree No. 52/2003/ND-CP of May 19, 2003, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam.

2. To annul previous regulations which are contrary to this Decree.

Article 5.- Implementation responsibility

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and presidents of People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall implement this Decree.