Last weekend SBV issued Circular 40 (which effect from 01-Feb-2012) regulating the establishment licensing and operating of joint stock banks.

Accordingly, restricting cross investments of banks which caused the manipulation system. Bank experts stated this is the first legal step to help SVB to reconstruct the operation of commercial banks in 2012.

Compared to Circular 09 dated 26-Mar-2010 of the State Bank on the establishment licensing and operating of commercial banks, Circular 40 has some new contents on the conditions for the founding, as founding member of the new bank is must not be a shareholders, owners, founders, shareholders strategy of any credit institution in Vietnam, and to the organization be the commercial bank must have total assets at least 100,000 billion dong is permitted issuance.

The central bank said it would control credit growth and loans to buy corporate bonds initially issued during 2012, maximum is 15-17%.

(Thanh Nien)