The President of the Central Bank of Cuba visits and works with the Vietnam Bank for Social Policy

On the morning of November 20th, a high-ranking delegation from the Central Bank of Cuba, led by Mrs. Juanna Lilia Delgado Portal, Minister and President of the Central Bank of Cuba, visited and worked at VBSP. The delegation was accompanied by representatives from several ministries and sectors, the presidents of some commercial banks in Cuba, representatives from the Cuban Embassy in Vietnam and representatives from the State Bank of Vietnam.

Mrs. Juanna Lilia Delgado Portal - Minister and President of the Central Bank of Cuba gave a speech at the working session with VBSP

During the meeting, Mr. Duong Quyet Thang - General Director of VBSP warmly welcomed and extended his best wishes to the high-ranking delegation of the Central Bank of Cuba. The General Director introduced the key highlights of VBSP's formation, development and activities to the delegation.

Starting with the establishment of the Poverty Reduction Loan Fund in 1995, followed by the creation of the Bank for the Poor under Decision No. 522/TTg by the Prime Minister in the same year, and the official establishment of VBSP on October 4, 2002 under Decree No. 78/2002/ND-CP on credit for the poor and other policy beneficiaries, VBSP has always strived to achieve its goals, building an effective operational system from central to local levels.

Mr. Duong Quyet Thang - General Director of VBSP gave a speech

As a specialized banking model and a tool of the Party and State to implement preferential credit policies, for over 22 years accompanying the poor and policy beneficiaries, VBSP has overcome many difficulties and challenges to excellently complete its assigned tasks, enhancing its role as an important economic lever of the State in sustainable poverty reduction efforts. The practical operations of VBSP have demonstrated the strong development and increasingly effective operation of the special policy credit channel in Vietnam. This is a policy-based credit system with the involvement of the entire political system, from central to local levels, which has provided vulnerable groups with opportunities to develop economically, improve their quality of life, respond to external risks and form saving habits for the future.

As of November 19, 2024, VBSP's total outstanding loans amounted to over VND 361.21 trillion with more than 6.8 million active customers over 20 credit programs. The quality of loans has been maintained. VBSP is now recognized as having the best credit quality in the banking system in Vietnam. VBSP has received support and recognition from all levels, sectors and the general public, being honored with the title "Labor Hero" during the renewal period. VBSP has also been highly praised by the World Bank and other international organizations, contributing to the effective implementation of key policies, goals and tasks set by the Party and State.

The scene of the working session

Speaking at the working session, Mrs. Juanna Lilia Delgado Portal praised the operational model of VBSP and its contributions to ensuring social welfare so that no one is left behind. She also expressed that the two sides could collaborate not only to learn from each other's experiences but also to jointly research and develop a policy-based credit product suitable for Cuba.

She welcomed the initial relationship being established between VBSP and the Cuban People's Savings Bank (BPA), highlighting that BPA is the bank with the largest branch network in Cuba, focusing on mobilizing savings and providing banking products tailored to local needs. BPA also manages several government programs related to social policies. She hoped that VBSP and BPA could soon promote experience exchanges and cooperation between the two institutions. The Minister and President of the Central Bank of Cuba also affirmed that the meeting with VBSP left her with many strong impressions and could be considered the most successful working session during her official visit to Asian countries.

At the end of the meeting, both sides agreed to jointly research and strengthen cooperation in the development of policy-based credit, contributing to the development of solidarity and friendship between the two banking sectors in particular, and the traditional cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba in general.

PV