The past year has been eventful for the Vietnamese economy as a whole, and for the banking sector in particular. Looking ahead, economic growth is expected to be about 7.5% this year and next, according to the latest forecast from the Asian Development Bank.
Buoyed by the strong performance of the economy, currently the fastest growing in south-east Asia, the economic reform and business liberalisation process has gone into what is – by Vietnamese standards at least – top gear. This has meant regulatory changes for local and foreign banks, driven partly by a realisation that the banking sector must open up further.
