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The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Nguyen Thi Hong, said the SBV has early identified risks related to credit growth and has implemented proactive measures to respond. On March 31, 2026, at the SBV headquarters, she met Yasuto Watanabe, Chief Executive Officer of AMRO.
The Governor praised the close, effective and constructive cooperation between AMRO and Vietnamese agencies, particularly through mid-year and annual consultative missions. She also highlighted capacity-building activities, including staff secondments and sponsorship for SBV staff to attend courses, conferences and seminars on central bank operations.
In response, Mr. Yasuto Watanabe thanked SBV for its support and close coordination with AMRO in recent times under the ASEAN+3 financial–monetary cooperation framework. He specifically referenced work on macroeconomic surveillance across the region and within the Multilateral Surveillance CMIM framework.
Dong He, AMRO’s Chief Economist, said the region’s macroeconomy faces risks and challenges from US tariff policy and the conflict in the Middle East, which can affect energy prices. He noted that despite these pressures, ASEAN+3 remains resilient, with growth higher than expected and inflation stable.
Vietnam was cited as a “bright spot” in the region, recognized for having the highest growth in 2025.
In this context, AMRO recommended that Vietnam adjust monetary and fiscal policy from easing to neutral in order to retain more room to respond to future shocks.
The Governor acknowledged AMRO’s recommendations and reiterated that SBV has already identified risks related to credit growth and taken proactive measures to address them.
The Governor also said SBV will continue to monitor oil price developments, particularly given volatility linked to the Middle East. She added that SBV will actively manage monetary policy to control inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
On the green energy transition, the Governor said Vietnam is pursuing sustainable development supported by digital transformation and the use of green energy. She noted that Vietnam targets double-digit growth for 2026–2030.
She further stated that agencies including SBV are building AI databases and maximizing the potential of AI. The Governor welcomed AMRO’s work on applying AI to macroprudential banking supervision and expressed a desire to continue strengthening cooperation with AMRO on information sharing and AI applications.
Both leaders expressed hope that the SBV–AMRO relationship will grow closer and more effective in policy advice and technical support, with the aim of enhancing SBV staff capacity to formulate and implement monetary policy and oversee the banking system.
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