Trust is the strongest 'currency' of Vietnamese banks

The Vietnamese bank brand does not lie in the logo or luxurious headquarters, but in trust, the strong "currency" that customers are willing to entrust.

“Change or die”

Sharing at the forum "Bringing Vietnamese brands to the world and suggestions for the banking system" organized by Banking Times on May 5, Professor John Quelch, who has more than 40 years of experience in teaching, consulting and leading at prestigious universities such as Harvard Business School, London Business School, CEIBS and is currently Vice President of Duke Kunshan University, participated. He is known by experts as the "Brand Wizard", having participated in strategic consulting for many leading financial groups in the world. He frankly said: Brand is not something to decorate, but a "vital" competitive weapon, especially in the banking industry, where "trust is the strongest currency".

“Banking is a service sector and therefore cannot stand outside the national economic development process. It must become an accelerator, not a burden,” he stressed.

Professor John Quelch, who has more than 40 years of experience teaching, consulting and leading at prestigious universities such as Harvard Business School, London Business School, CEIBS and is currently Vice President of Duke Kunshan University. Photo: Hoang Giap

In an era of booming technology and constantly changing global financial markets, banks cannot continue to play a passive, safe role to the point of blunting their own competitiveness. According to Professor Quelch, no matter how cautious financial institutions are, they must learn to take on a creative and leading role. This means that banks need to proactively invest in information technology, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence applications... breakthroughs are no longer an option, but a mandatory condition if they want to survive and develop.

Such innovation not only helps banks improve their operational efficiency, but also serves as a lever for the Vietnamese banking industry to step out into the world with a position equal to that of financial powers. “Change or die”, the slogan once associated with the US banking ecosystem, was also emphasized by Mr. Quelch as a truth for all industries and is especially urgent for Vietnamese banks in the context of increasingly fierce regional and global competition.

Frankly but not pessimistically, the “Brand Wizard” assessed that the Vietnamese banking industry is currently developing quite healthily. In his view, a competitive system where consumers have many choices is a positive sign for effective operation. According to him, the State Bank of Vietnam has performed well in its supervisory and regulatory role, when the economy reached a size of about 600 billion USD, inflation was controlled at 4% and the exchange rate was stable. These are “commendable” indicators, reflecting a great effort to keep the Vietnamese financial market from being caught up in the global vortex of instability.

However, we should not rest on our laurels. On the one hand, there are still banks facing difficulties in operations and risk control. On the other hand, many banks are “growing faster than the economy”, posing challenges in governance and supervision capacity. To continue maintaining the health of the system, Professor Quelch recommends expanding opportunities for foreign investment, not only in state-owned commercial banks but also in private joint-stock banks. He cited the example of Japanese investors who are willing to increase their ownership ratio if permitted as evidence of the potential to attract international capital if the “open door” policy is implemented synchronously and consistently.

According to him, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities should be promoted more strongly to create banks with a large enough scale to compete regionally, invest systematically in high-quality technology and gradually reach out to the international market. This is not only a capital problem, but also a solution to the aspiration to position the national brand through leading financial institutions.

Moving on to the discussion of branding strategy, Mr. Quelch offered a profound yet practical definition: “A brand is not a logo or a slogan. A brand is a promise delivered consistently, regularly, and reliably.” He emphasized that trust is the most important foundation for building a brand, and that trust can only come from keeping commitments, whether in small transactions or large commitments such as professional ethics, financial transparency, or the ability to handle crises.

The forum “Bringing Vietnamese brands to the world and suggestions for the banking system” organized by Banking Times on May 5. Photo: Hoang Giap

Once trust is established, consumers will stick with the brand for a long time, thereby helping organizations increase revenue, reduce the cost of finding new customers, and improve overall operational efficiency. In the context of the digital economy, consumer behavior changes rapidly and communication channels diversify every day. Banks that keep their promises, that is, stay true to their core values, can build sustainable and profitable relationships with customers.

Professor Quelch also did not hesitate to point out a difference that Vietnamese banks need to pay attention to: Brand building cannot only be directed outward, but must start from within, from management capacity, service quality, corporate culture to social responsibility. A strong brand is the crystallization of internal strength and social trust, it cannot be borrowed or taken shortcuts. Because a brand is not something that is formed in a day, but is the result of a process of persistent, consistent and creative efforts.

If you want your brand to reach international stature, your development strategy must have international stature.

At the Forum, Mr. Peter Verhoeven, a member of Anax Invest's leadership, who has more than 40 years of banking management experience at Deutsche Bank, Citibank, Standard Chartered, also stated that trust is the most important thing for a brand. The same goes for banks, management agencies need to control bank operations to ensure people's trust. The basis of this trust is built on banks doing well in internal management activities, meeting operational safety requirements. At the same time, they are increasingly upgrading their management capabilities according to new standards such as Basel III, moving towards Basel IV.

In addition, innovation is also extremely important to meet the increasing expectations of users. The highly developed technology context also requires faster and more convenient banking service experiences. Ensure that each user has a convenient and seamless banking service journey.

Mr. Peter Verhoeven, a member of Anax Invest's leadership, who has more than 40 years of banking management experience at Deutsche Bank, Citibank, Standard Chartered (sitting in the middle) shared at the forum. Photo: Hoang Giap

Editor-in-Chief of Banking Times - Ms. Le Thi Thuy Sen said that philosophically, to build a good brand, there needs to be unity between the two aspects of the pair of categories "content" and "form". Or more specifically, "content" means the nature of the business's operations, the bank must be methodical, meeting the requirements in good management and operation. And "form" is the way it is expressed on the outside. According to Ms. Sen, if one of the two above factors is missing, the brand of the business, the bank cannot reach far.

“A well-functioning bank that does not know how to build a brand will waste its value and vice versa. Banks need to recognize the importance of branding as a great value. Brand is the resource and value of the bank. If the brand wants to reach international standards, the brand development strategy must also have an international scale,” Ms. Sen affirmed.

From the actual operation, sharing about the suggested slogan for Vietnamese banks in this period, Ms. Thai Huong - Hero of Labor, Chairman of the Strategy Council of TH Group - General Director of Bac A Commercial Joint Stock Bank quoted the slogan of her own bank: "Keep a bright mind to reach far and wide". She explained that the meaning of this sentence is still valid because banking business is money business, which is also a very challenging type of business.

“I always tell the leaders of Bac A Bank, the word 'calm' or 'mind' because in calmness there is mind, it is necessary to achieve "calmness" in money business, avoid being negatively influenced by 'temptation' by money itself. Why do people in money business need to be calm? Calmness is to lead the bank to operate healthily, objectively, not influenced by personal interests or group interests", Ms. Thai Huong shared.

Ms. Thai Huong - Hero of Labor, Chairwoman of TH Group's Strategy Council - General Director of Bac A Commercial Joint Stock Bank shared at the forum. Photo: Hoang Giap

According to Ms. Thai Huong, business has never been an easy path, especially money business because this special commodity has both ownership value and usage value. Thanks to the mindset of "Smart money, skillful money", Bac A Bank has created a class of customers who develop sustainably, are rich and prosperous.

Also emphasizing that building a brand must come from values ​​and responsibility to the community, Ms. Thai Huong affirmed that from the beginning, TH Group has not discussed the goal of brand development but has developed strongly and created real values ​​from simple and happy things. The happiness that TH true MILK brings is not only for the sellers but also for the health of the whole community.

Along with the efforts of the management agency, delegates said that commercial banks also need to proactively improve their capacity to effectively manage carbon credits as a type of collateral.

The head of TH Group also shared a meaningful message: “Love Mother Nature, who has given you everything.” This message has been carried out by her and TH Group since the early days of nurturing the idea. In addition, TH must also grasp the trend of green consumption, towards the community, promoting social responsibility and safety for consumers.

Sharing the core values ​​in the strategy of bringing the brand to the world, Ms. Thai Huong affirmed: "For a brand to develop sustainably and go the long way, especially in the food industry, the core value must be community value, like human virtue - truth is the most important factor, along with advanced technology".

Deputy Governor of the State Bank Pham Thanh Ha: In the coming time, the State Bank will continue to improve the legal framework, encourage innovation, promote digitalization of banking activities, and enhance competitiveness. At the same time, credit institutions are required to develop a systematic brand strategy, linked to a long-term development strategy and international integration.

Hoang Lan

Source: https://congthuong.vn/niem-tin-la-dong-tien-manh-nhat-cua-ngan-hang-viet-386135.html