History:

The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies is a state-owned bank was established under Premier’s Decision; based upon the re-organization of the Bank for the Poor and separation from Vietnam Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development for purpose of detaching policy lending from commercial lending.

The Bank officially started its operation on March 11th, 2003 in accordance with its Charter issued with the Premier’s Decision. Its life is 99 years. It is a legal entity with its own seal, legal, assets and transaction network from central to local level. VBSP sets up a nation-wide unified management and administration apparatus. Its Headquarter is located in Hanoi; its initial charter capital is VND 5,000 billion (USD 312.5 million) and is supplemented accordingly upon its operation requirement from time to time. Its current charter capital is VND 10,000 billion (USD 500 million) as of end-2010.

Mission: VBSP is not for profit and currently in charge of providing policy credit to the poor and other policy beneficiaries. VBSP is only policy bank in Vietnam operating as a tool of the Vietnamese Government to fight against poverty.

Operation: VBSP implements such basic operations of a bank as: capital mobilization (from international and domestic individuals and organizations; receiving capitals from the government and People’s Committee, etc.); extending loans to the poor and other policy beneficiaries and payment services.

Lending programmes

● Lending to poor households
● Lending to disadvantaged students;
● Lending for job creation;
● Lending to policy beneficiaries serving as migrant workers going abroad for limited terms;
● Lending for safe water and rural environment sanitation;
● Lending for housing purposes; Lending to extremely disadvantaged ethnic minority;
● Lending to traders doing business in disadvantaged areas;
● Lending to households doing business in disadvantaged areas;
● Lending to business and production enterprises with drug-detoxified employees;
● Projects funded by domestic or foreign donors;
● Other programs and clients mandated by the Government.

Network: A nation-wide network from Head Office to communes has been constituted:

●  A Head Office;
●  A Training Center;
● An Information Technology Center;
● A Transaction center;
● 63 provincial and municipal branches;
● 620 district transaction offices;
● Mobile transaction points at almost communes all over the country

To deliver loans to poor households and other social beneficiaries in the most quickly manner, VBSP is conducting the method of entrusted lending via 4 mass organizations, namely: Women Union of Vietnam, Farmer Union of Vietnam, War Veteran Union of Vietnam and Youth Union of Vietnam. The mass organizations take charge of some lending steps of VBSP, such as: establishing savings & credit groups; to organize certifying poor households; to supervise and urge borrowers in using loans properly etc. VBSP conduct loan disbursement, loan collection and safe treasury management.

Savings and credit groups

VBSP conducts preferential lending through entrusted organizations. Savings & credit groups, established by entrusted organizations, are  the VBSP’s channel of delivering preferential loans to the poor and other social beneficiaries. VBSP clients joint savings and credit groups where necessary support and technical assistance are always available. It is so far recognized to be the effective and efficient outreach to the poor and policy beneficiaries, especially those in rural areas and remote and isolated areas all over the country.

Mobile transaction points

At our utmost attempt to reach the poor and enable the best convenience for the clients, VBSP has officially established mobile transaction points at almost communes all over the country. Arcordingly on the fixed dates of every month,  working teams are sent to communes by banking cars to deal with clients, on the way to make microfinance accessible everywhere and to everyone.

After eight years of operation (2003-2010), VBSP has provided loans to more than 10.6 turns of poor and policy households with current 7.3 million active borrowers, successfully supported some 2.1 million households to escape from poverty.