In July, the Asian Banking and Finance (ABF) magazine held its annual ABF Wholesale Banking Awards in Singapore, recognizing excellence in the wholesale banking sector. Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) stood out by winning two prestigious awards: “Vietnam Domestic SME Partnership Initiative of the Year” and “Vietnam Domestic Social Impact Finance Initiative of the Year.”
The ABF awards are judged by experts from top global auditing and consulting firms such as PwC, Deloitte, EY, and Bain and Company. As one of the five largest private joint-stock commercial banks in Vietnam, SHB remains committed to its customer-centric philosophy, continuously striving to provide modern and convenient financial solutions to its clients. The two awards from ABF Wholesale Banking Awards 2024 acknowledge SHB’s innovative initiatives and their positive impact on SMEs and women-owned businesses, creating and spreading positive values to society and the community.
Supporting SMEs with Creative Financial Solutions
As part of its digital transformation and technology application strategy, SHB collaborated with MISA Joint Stock Company in 2023 to launch a digital banking connection service on MISA’s accounting software, including MISA AMIS and MISA SME.
Through this collaboration, SHB’s Internet Banking system is integrated with MISA SME.NET accounting software and MISA AMIS Online accounting subsystem. After each successful payment or fund transfer on SHB’s Internet Banking platform, the data is automatically synchronized into the company’s accounting software, eliminating the need for manual bookkeeping from bank statements to the software.
Thanks to the seamless connection between the bank and MISA’s accounting software, accountants can monitor, supervise, approve, and perform financial transactions anytime, anywhere, and on multiple platforms such as PC, mobile, and tablet. This integration saves up to 80% of processing time and operating costs for businesses. For companies already using MISA’s accounting software, it takes just two minutes to connect and integrate with SHB’s Internet Banking service.
Leading the Way in Supporting Women-Owned Businesses
In addition to its digital solutions and innovative, modern, and convenient products and services for all customers, SHB has been a strong supporter of providing affordable capital to individuals and businesses, including those owned by women. A notable program in this regard is the “Support to Mitigate the Impact of Covid-19 on WSMEs” in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This initiative has helped WSMEs (women-owned small and medium enterprises) recover and stabilize their operations after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Through this program, WSMEs affected by Covid-19 received loan restructuring and interest support from SHB, including a six-month interest waiver for eligible customers. Each support package is worth up to USD 10,000, funded by ADB. Additionally, SHB offers various benefits to women-owned businesses to optimize their financial transactions, such as premium account numbers for the company and its leaders, free salary payment services, free Internet banking packages, domestic transfer fees, and a free Standard payment account combo package for six months.
The bank has also signed a credit agreement with IFC for USD 120 million to support the development of its SME lending portfolio, including women-owned businesses and those in supply chains. This additional resource enables the bank to continue developing policies and programs to support SMEs, with a particular focus on WSMEs.
With its sustainable financial solutions and diverse digital products and services for small and medium-sized enterprises, SHB has been recognized by Alpha Southeast Asia magazine as the “Best Sustainable SME Financing Bank.” Previously, SHB was also awarded the “Best Commercial Bank – SME in Vietnam” by FinanceAsia magazine.
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