Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development - State Bank of Vietnam

GENERAL INFORMATION

Established in March 26th, 1988, having operated under the Law on Vietnam’s Credit Organizations, Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRIBANK) has been a leading commercial bank to play a decisive and important role in capital investment in developing the agricultural and rural economy as well as other fields of Vietnam’s economy.

AGRIBANK is the largest bank in Vietnam in terms of capital, assets, staff, operating network and number of clients. To the end of 2004, it has enjoyed the equity capital of VND 6,200 billion, total assets of over VND 182 thousand billion, 1,800 branches nation-wide with 28,000 staff.

AGRIBANK always pays much attention to the renovation and application of banking technology in a bid to serve the business management and develop the advanced banking service network. It is also the first bank to complete phase I of the project on modernizing the Intra-bank Payment and Customer Accounting System (IPCAS) sponsored by the World Bank, and is actively conducting phase II. At present, it has connected computer network from the Head quarter to almost all branches nationwide and provided a system of banking services including e-telegraphic transfer, international credit card, ATM, international payment by SWIFT. To date, AGRIBANK has been sufficient to provide modern and advanced banking services and products which are comfortable to all domestic and foreign customers.

AGRIBANK is one of the banks that has the largest correspondent bank relationship in Vietnam with more than 900 correspondent banks in 110 nations and territories as of 2003, is a member of Asian Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA), Confederation of International Credit for Agriculture (CICA) and Asian Bankers Association (ABA); has hosted several major international conferences such as FAO conference in 1991, APRACA conference 1996, 2004, CICA conference 2001, APRACA conference on fisheries 2002.

AGRIBANK is the first bank in Vietnam to receive and develop foreign projects, esp. those of WB, ADB, AFD. By the end of 2002, 62 projects with the total capital of USD 2,097 million had been received and properly controlled.

Standing as the leading commercial bank in Vietnam, AGRIBANK has done its best to get many encouraging achievements and made a considerable contribution to the industrialization, modernization and development of the national economy.

ENTERPRISE CULTURE

In this paper thereof, the concept of Enterprise culture (EC in short) is understood as follows:

- EC is a full combination of traditions, structures and business know-how, which form the behavior rule of one enterprise;

- EC is the entire business modes, management, business operation, behavior in the relation with partners and in internal enterprises;

- EC is of unwritten behavior rules, invisible force to become legal regulations which are understood and accepted by the involved.

AGRIBANK has conducted the EC with the content summarized by the AGRIBANK’s leadership as “Truthful, complying with the law, creative, quality, efficient”.

1.1: Truthful: is understood as “Right with one’s thought, with what had occurred, or honest and frank (a honest person, honest personality).

1.2: Complying with the laws: is understood “Rules govern the social life, organization, family… to maintain relations between men in a lifestyle which is considered to be suitable with the conduct; other times, other laws; or manner and custom form the social order: holding fast to the nation’s laws”

1.3: Creative: is understood “To make something that hasn’t existed or to study to make something better without being affected.”

In terms of methodology, “New creation” is understood as an internal element. Economic development is also changes in economic activities from internal creation…

1.4: Quality: is understood: value in terms of benefit (for quantity).

- In terms of quality of product (in economic meaning): properties of product identified by measurable or comparable data that match the existing technical conditions and are able to meet social and individual demand in a given condition in terms of production and consumption. It also reflects technology and scientific level and is an important economic and technical standard to improve production efficiency and is of significant economic meaning (enlarging production scale, consumption market, esp. the international market).

The narrow meaning of quality means product’s quality which shows the usage of the product, matches a given intension of using, meets quality properties required by the society… and the durability of these properties as time passes. The broad meaning includes working quality.

- Working quality means the ensurance of production, technology and organization helping products reach quality standard, and improvement of the quality of product. Moreover, it comprises the quality of business determination and site compliance, which is measured by working capacity, efficiency, product’s quality and economic efficiency of the units and assigned position. The product’s quality is decided by working quality and working quality is a guarantee for product’s quality. These two are different but have close relation.

1.5: Efficient is understood as: “What has been achieved at one job or activity”.

Efficiency is the desired result, what brings about the result that we expect; it has different meaning in different fields (Economic efficiency; socioeconomic efficiency; labor using efficiency; efficiency and efficiency percentage…) In production, it means productivity; in business: interest, profit; in working in general: labor productivity evaluated by an amount of time spent to put out a unit of product or by a number of products put out in a given time.

Purposes and requirements to build and promote AGRIBANK trademark and implement EC in Agribank .

1- Purposes and requirements.

1.1.Building and promoting AGRIBANK trademark.

- To protect and maintain the trademark property right domestically and internationally.

- To popularize the bank’s image, strengthen the reputation, beef up position, take control of market share, expand the local, regional and international market.

- To build confidence in product and service quality to banks and clients, raise the competitiveness of AGRIBANK’s products and services.

- AGRIBANK trademark building and promoting ensures the compliance with the law of Vietnam, concerned countries and international convention, instruction of the State Bank; system uniformity. AGRIBANK usually conducts inspection, supervision, preliminary and final summery, assessment, selection for reward.

1.2. Implementation of AGRIBANK’s EC.

- To turn EC into internal strength in business;

- To turn EC into managing solution in order to help consolidate its reputation and position in Vietnam and international market;

- To turn EC into virtuous character, lifestyle and working environment of the bank’s staff; the entire bank thoroughly grasp and implement “Truthful, complying with the law, creative, quality, efficient” which becomes AGRIBANK’s tradition in order to consolidate customer’s confidence, occupy market share, expand market, enhance the competitiveness of product and service quality in domestic and international market.

AGRIBANK’s EC building ensures the following requirements:

- To comply with Vietnam’s law and international convention, inherit and promote the country’s cultural tradition that riches in national identity, integrate into regional and international advanced EC in accordance with the advocacy and instruction of the State, State Bank and AGRIBANK

- To be of uniform, science, inheritance, reality and development which fit the AGRIBANK’s operating speed; design given programs and plans to conduct EC; clearly define the purpose, requirement, plan and solution which ensure the reality, quality, economy and effect;

- To regularly conduct inspection, supervision, initial and final summary, assessment, selection for emulation and reward in terms of EC building.