State Bank Region 5: Regional cooperation, improving monetary policy management

State Bank Region 5 has its headquarters located in the center of Thai Nguyen City. Photo: LK

Stabilizing staff ideology - the foundation

The organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Region 5 after the reorganization includes the Board of Directors with 1 Director and 6 Deputy Directors (including 1 Deputy Director at the headquarters and 5 Deputy Directors in charge of the provinces), along with 7 specialized and professional departments.

The total number of civil servants and employees after the reorganization is 219, a decrease of 30 compared to before. Notably, the number of leaders and managers has been drastically reduced from 79 to 32, clearly demonstrating the spirit of "reducing focal points, increasing efficiency".

As soon as the merger decision was made, many officers and employees felt anxious about job positions, changes in organization, work culture, etc. However, the Board of Directors of the State Bank of Vietnam Region 5 clearly stated that: Stabilizing the mindset of the staff is a prerequisite.

Mr. Le Quang Huy, Director of SBV Region 5, emphasized: We are not merging 6 branches, but creating a new organization. Staff are arranged based on capacity, clearly assigned tasks to ensure smooth work, without disruption. It is the consensus that has created rapid stability after the merger.

Not only is it an administrative arrangement, streamlining the apparatus also places great demands on the responsibility, sacrifice and adaptation of cadres in practice. A typical case is Ms. Hoang Dieu Hong, a specialist of the General Department - who previously worked in Lang Son , now transferred to the headquarters in Thai Nguyen from March 1, 2025.

Sharing about that challenging journey, Ms. Hoang Dieu Hong said: Although I encountered many difficulties when transferring to Thai Nguyen, I had to bring my young child and rent a place to live, while my husband continued to work at a commercial bank in Huu Lung district, Lang Son province, having to travel 71km from home every day, but my family agreed and clearly understood the responsibility, strictly followed the policy of reorganizing the apparatus. I proactively arranged my life, ready to receive and carry out the task at the State Bank of Vietnam, Region 5.

Not only Ms. Hong but also many other officials from Bac Kan and Cao Bang are trying to integrate and contribute to the stability of the new organization. The initial difficulties are considered as "the inevitable transition phase" and the important thing is the proactive, open-minded and committed spirit of the staff - the important foundation to help the State Bank of Region 5 quickly stabilize and operate effectively after the merger.

State Bank Region 5 arranges staff to work based on capacity, with clearly assigned tasks and responsibilities.

Building a “regional conductor” model

From the model of “provincial branch” to “inter-provincial area”, the functions of the State Bank of Vietnam Region 5 have been expanded and upgraded. This agency now plays the role of overall coordination of monetary, credit, payment, foreign exchange and gold management, banking inspection and supervision for 6 provinces with an expanded network of credit institutions.

The whole region currently has 36 credit institutions operating with 136 level 1 branches; 3 microfinance institution branches and 49 people's credit funds; 52 district-level branches of the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development; 449 transaction offices under bank branches in the area.

Especially in the context of needing to control inflation, stabilize exchange rates but still support production and business growth, the role of regional "conductor" becomes even more important.

Just over 2 weeks after coming into operation, on March 18, 2025, the State Bank of Region 5 coordinated with the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province to organize a conference to promote bank credit, contributing to promoting regional economic growth to assess regional liquidity, grasp the actual capital needs of businesses, and orient credit to key areas such as high-tech industry, organic agriculture, transit logistics, etc.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thoi, Chairman of Thai Nguyen Province Business Association: The transition to a regional model helps businesses access credit policies in a more unified and clear way. There is no longer a situation where each province does things differently. Especially for businesses operating in inter-provincial areas, this is a very remarkable step forward.

Along with the organizational arrangement, SBV Region 5 also pays special attention to stabilizing the payment system, ensuring uninterrupted cash and data transfers within the region. Digital technology applications, a regional common data management system and remote operation methods have been deployed synchronously from the beginning.

Regarding inspection and supervision, the new model helps strengthen cluster risk control and early detection of systemic insecurity risks, especially at credit institutions with widespread operations in many provinces.

At the same time, SBV Region 5 is studying reasonable decentralization, increasing autonomy for each locality, thereby optimizing governance and policy response.

However, it is undeniable that there are challenges in terms of geographical distance, differences in working culture, increased workload... To overcome these challenges, the leaders of the State Bank of Vietnam, Region 5, have focused on building a team of regional staff with strategic thinking, multi-regional management, and high adaptability.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/kinh-te/202504/ngan-hang-nha-nuoc-khu-vuc-5hop-luc-vung-nang-tam-dieu-hanh-chinh-sach-tien-te-1222ae1/