SBV focuses on bank cross-ownership

Under a State Bank of Vietnam draft law, which revises the Law on Credit Institutions, cases of purchase, sale or transfer of shares with a value of 1% or more of the banks' charter capital must have the SBV's written approval before implementation.

The money to buy bank shares must be proved legally and must not have originated through loans. Besides these, the draft law also stipulates that major shareholders and related persons must not own more than 5% of the charter capital of another credit institution.

These regulations are aimed at making the capital contribution of shareholders transparent, preventing cross-ownership or fake capital increases.