1 STATE BANK OF VIETNAM MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BANKING UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY NGUYEN DA THAO THE EFFICIENCY OF INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENT OPERATIONS OF VIETCOMBANK 2015 2017 BACHELOR[.]
1 STATE BANK OF VIETNAM MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BANKING UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY - NGUYEN DA THAO THE EFFICIENCY OF INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENT OPERATIONS OF VIETCOMBANK 2015 - 2017 BACHELOR’S THESIS MAJOR: FINANCE - BANKING ID: 734021 HO CHI MINH CITY, 2018 Tai ngay!!! Ban co the xoa dong chu nay!!! STATE BANK OF VIETNAM MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BANKING UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY - NGUYEN DA THAO THE EFFICIENCY OF INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENT OPERATIONS OF VIETCOMBANK 2015 - 2017 BACHELOR’S THESIS MAJOR: FINANCE - BANKING ID: 734021 SUPERVISOR DR NGUYEN PHUOC KINH KHA HO CHI MINH CITY, 2018 DECLARATION The thesis, which I have submitted, is my own research and, with the exception of quotations (which are clearly marked and referenced), is written in my own words Signature: Date: ABSTRACT The process of internationalization of the world's socio-economic life has been more and more intense, and international trade has more and more conditions for development For a developing country like Vietnam, import-export activities play a very important role in the economic development, thus, the international payment of commercial banks should recieve more attention in banking operations Viet Nam Foreign Bank is the most outstanding bank in Vietnam regarding of international settlement In recent years, Vietnam Foreign Trade Bank has always paid attention to innovation in external relations in order to improve the efficiency and development of international settlement, enhancing the prestige and competitiveness as an international bank regionally and globally Based on the research on the efficiency of international settlement operations at Vietcombank, it can be seen that besides the positive results, there are still some limitations in the development of settlement quality as well as bringing efficiency to this activity Therefore, in order to improve the efficiency of international settlement operations at the Foreign Trade Bank of Vietnam in particular and commercial banks in general, there should be synchronized coordination from many parties, not only the relationship between banks and clients but the strong combination among solutions The implementation should be carried out at the same time to bring about its effect Table of Contents DECLARATION ABSTRACT LIST OF ACRONYMS LIST OF PICTURES INTRODUCTION 10 Rationale 10 Literature Review 12 Research Objectives 12 Data and Methodology 13 Dissertation Outline 13 CHAPTER I 14 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY OF INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENT 14 1.1 Fundamental theories of international settlement 14 1.1.1 Definition of international payment 14 1.1.2 Characteristics of international payment 14 1.1.3 The role of international payment 15 1.2 1.2.1 The efficiency of international settlement operations in Commercial Bank 17 Definition of the efficiency of international settlement operations 17 1.2.2 Criteria to evaluate the efficiency of international settlement operations in Commercial Banks 19 1.2.3 Quantitive criteria for evaluating the operational efficiency of internationl settlement operations 21 1.2.4 Quanlitative criteria for evaluating the operational efficiency of international settlement operations 23 CHAPTER II 25 ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFICIENCY OF INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENT OPERATIONS AT VIETCOMBANK 25 2.1 An Overview Of Bank For Foreign Trade Bank Of Vietnam 25 2.1.1 The history and development of Vietcombank 25 2.1.2 The organizational structure 26 2.2 2.2.1 The reality of international settlement operations at Vietcombank 28 Structure of International settlement – Trade Finance Centers and Branches 28 2.2.2 The reality of international settlement operations at Vietcombank 30 2.3 Assessment of the efficiency of international settlement operations at Vietcombank 35 2.3.1 The efficiency of international settlement operations evaluated by quantitative criteria 35 2.3.2 The efficiency of international settlement operations evaluated by qualitative criteria 36 2.4 Advantages and drawbacks 42 2.4.1 Advantages 42 2.4.2 Drawbacks 43 CHAPTER III 47 ENHANCEMENT OF THE EFFICIENCY OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC OPERATIONS IN VIETNAM 47 3.1 Orientations for development and expansion of business in general and International Settlements in particular in Vietnam 47 3.1.1 General development orientation 47 3.1.2 Orientation to enhance the efficiency of International settlement operations at Vietcombank 48 3.2 Recommendations to enhance the efficiency of international settlement operations in Vietnam 49 3.2.1 Recommendations to Vietcombank 49 3.2.2 Collaborative recommendations to clients 60 3.2.3 Recommendations to the government 61 CONCLUSION 63 REFERENCES 64 LIST OF ACRONYMS Acronym Meaning IS International Settlement ICC International Chamber of Commerce L/C Letter of credit T/T Telegraphic Transfer D/P Documents against payment D/A Documents against acceptance UCP Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits USD United States Dollar VND Vietnam Dong SWIFT Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication VCB Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam BIDV Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam ACB Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank MHB Housing Bank of Mekong Delta MB Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank HSBC Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation LIST OF PICTURES Name Page Figure 2.1: Corporate governance model of Vietcombank 27 Figure 2.2: Management structure of Vietcombank 28 Figure 2.3: Structure of International settlement – Trade Finance Centers and Branches Figure 2.4: Market share of Vietcombank 2015 - 2017 Figure 2.5: International payment – trade finance revenue of Vietcombank 2015 – 2017 (USD billion) Figure 2.6: Export and Import Settlement Revenue of Vietcombank 2015 – 2017 (USD billion) Table 2.7: International settlement revenue and market share of some Commercial Banks in Vietnam 2015 - 2017 (USD billion) Table 2.8: Value of each payment methods of Vietcombank 2015 – 2017 (USD billion) Figure 2.9: Proportion of each payment methods in export settlement value of Vietcombank 2015 – 2017 Figure 2.10: Proportion of each payment methods in import settlement value of Vietcombank 2015 - 2017 Table 2.11: Analysis of the efficiency of international settlement operations of Vietcombank 2015 – 2017 (USD billion) 29 30 31 31 32 33 34 34 35 Table 2.12: International settlement product portfolio of Vietcombank 39 Table 2.13: Vietcombank remittances services 40 Table 2.14: Core banking softwares of Commercial Banks in Vietnam 41 10 INTRODUCTION Rationale Although operating in any form, a commercial bank usually consists of three main operations: capital mobilization, lending and intermediary International settlement is a part of the bank's intermediation business International settlement operations create momentum for the development of other operations Therefore, how to achieve efficiency in international settlement is a matter of top priorities of banks for the following reasons: Firstly, international development activity facilitates the increase of revenue and profit Vietcombank, playing the role as the leading bank in this type of business in Vietnam, not only does the bank's revenue increase significantly thanks to the fees charged for providing more services to its clients, but also in support of other bank operations This creates advantages for Vietcombank to increase deposit, create favorable conditions for expanding the scale of credit, especially to increase the foreign currency capital due to the temporary management of the idle capital of enterprises with payment via banks Secondly, the operation of international settlement development, facilitating banks to disperse risks Banking is the business that contains the most risky elements Especially in the current context, the more volatile, fraudulent trickery increasingly sophisticated, the more and more risk that Vietcombank incurred: credit risk, risk interest rates, foreign exchange risks, liquidity risk, technology and operational risks, national risk, etc Diversification of business and service types is the most effective way to diversify risk in banking business Revenue from International settlement would support banks when the market fluctuates, helping banks to maintain stability International settlement would help strengthen the bank's competitiveness In the field of import-export capital which contains many risks, it is required that the International settlement should apply from receiving to processing information To meet that requirement, Banks has to innovate 50 b) For payment method: Apply a security measure in case of advance payment for collection documents In Vietcombank's collection process, Vietcombank would discount D/A receipts on the basis that foreign banks have telegraphed the due date The receiving bank is a reputable bank There is an international law that obliges banks As for D/P collection documents, Vietcombank would discount up to a maximum of 60 days, but in practice D/P collection receipts are also delayed and extended by the buyer Therefore, before the discount, it is necessary to carefully examine the financial ability of the client or the application of security measures such as pledge, mortgage, guarantee Therefore, applying this measure would bring efficiency to Vietcombank in ensuring the ability to recover capital, collect debts and interest on advances, minimize risks c) For remittance methods Vietcombank need to consider and select the appropriate paying bank Normally, remittances are debited at the same bank that both Vietcombank and paying banks receive the same account relationship, the client is not charged or only a negligible fee is charged If Vietcombank does not care about this, then it would be impractical to use the payment from the Nostro account at this bank Looping through intermediary banks is a waste of money In order to implement this measure, banks should carefully compare the list of foreign correspondent banks in order to find suitable banks for each market that choose to pay accordingly With this measure, businesses would see the efficiency brought by Vietcombank and find them to Vietcombank Vietcombank would surely attract more and more clients, which would increase the efficiency of banking business d) For bank's Nostro account In order for the process of claiming goods to be shipped via L/C or collection to the client, it is safe, fast and minimizes any service charges or charges Foreign banks collect export clients, contributing to improving the efficiency of International 51 settlement operations, in the process of checking export documents, besides careful examination of documents in accordance with the terms and conditions In the case of L/C, Vietcombank needs to understand the accounts opened by banks in foreign correspondent banks, the fees that foreign banks would charge in the payment process Based on that, Vietcombank would ask corresponding bank banks to pay money to the Nostro account that both Vietcombank and corresponding banks to pay at the same bank, or the money to export to banks with the lowest fees This not only reduces the fees charged by foreign banks, but also limits the process of paying for long periods of time from the paying bank's Nostro account This professional approach needs the attention of the staff working in international affairs to create prestige for the bank, bring high efficiency to clients and inevitably International settlement efficiency would be improved 3.2.1.2 Close coordination with other supporting departments The departments should coordinate smoothly to create convenience, promptly for the client Particularly, the operation of the International settlement - Trade Finance has close relationship with other operations such as foreign currency trading, export financing, using capital, treasury and other payment operations Therefore, there should be synchronous solutions, from many sides to have mutual support effect, stimulate each other to develop together In term of foreign currency trading, the international commercial transactions are closely related to foreign currency trading and export credit If export credit develops as a basis for increasing foreign exchange earnings, expanding International settlement operations In contrast, the development of international settlement helps to attract foreign currency, keep traditional clients, attract new clients, expand export credit Therefore, Vietcombank should: - Promote and trade in different currencies - Apply flexible exchange rate regime for each type of foreign currency to ensure the competitiveness of the bank 52 - Having preferential policies to encourage clients to sell foreign currencies to banks for fees, interest rates and other banking services - Flexible foreign exchange business policy associated with international and international banking services: Over the past time, competition in the international financial market between Vietnamese banks and some foreign banks in Vietnam has been quite fierce To address this relationship, Vietcombank should have a flexible foreign exchange trading policy in both form and exchange rates It is necessary to diversify and develop various types of foreign exchange business such as spot, forward, swap, Arbitrage To this, International Settlement specialists should have a good understanding of these skills so that they could provide good advice to their clients right from the moment they acquire the need to open their own import or export contracts and export L/C Through this, Vietcombank could carry out both services: foreign currency trading and international settlement services In addition, Vietcombank needs to have a connection between the foreign currency trading and credit operations with international settlement operations in order to attract clients to pay for import and export goods via banks Vietcombank would provide import credit or export financing with some preferential conditions for credit-focused enterprises, international organizations and foreign currency trading via banks This is an effective way to improve the efficiency of International settlement operations In order to this, there should be coordination between the various departments at the bank, each department should agree on the common interest of Vietcombank that promptly notify each other necessary information about the client to timely prevent the risk as well as serve the client Through lending to clients to pay for imported goods or to buy and export goods for export, Vietcombank and client would negotiate an appropriate buying and selling rate As a result, banks would be able to effectively collect credit and business transactions and international settlements 53 3.2.1.3 Implementing banking marketing strategy The efficiency of banking operations, the viability and development of Vietcombank depend on the client, the credibility of both the depositor and the borrower and the users of the banking service This is the basis for the formation of bank marketing At present, Vietnamese banks are already interested in banking Vietcombank has established marketing department to study the market, capture client's operations To develop this activity, Vietcombank needs to develop a specific marketing strategy and this strategy should be thoroughly understood by every bank officer in the system In order to develop and implement the bank's marketing strategy effectively, Vietcombank should have a flexible client policy This emphasizes that Vietcombank has to look for clients and approach clients directly to create a good relationship with them so that Vietcombank could grasp the needs of clients, introduce products and services Vietcombank is able to provide them with a better understanding of international banking services, only to create a sense of security for their clients through which banks could attract clients new products In addition to client policy, it is necessary to carry out a systematic promotion and advertising of the bank's operations, advertising by products, through the mass media to introduce the benefits of each Products and services that Vietcombank has been and would provide for clients It could help all clients, from residents to businesses to understand more about banking operations In addition, Vietcombank should make use of market research to offer products that are superior to other banks Recommendations are organizing client conferences; trade promotion through fairs and exhibitions to capture the needs and tastes of clients; consulting, answering questions as well as advising clients To this, Vietcombank should provide knowledge, experience and art to reach clients not only for themselves but also for Vietcombank staff, to train a team of specialized staff, professional work from the central to the branch The ultimate 54 goal of banking marketing is to bring about business efficiency for banks, efficiency in business turnover in general and international equity in particular, efficiency in prestige and strength in the business market Plus, in order to carry out its marketing strategy, banks should have adequate funding for this activity 3.2.1.4 Developing consulting services In the current situation, most exporters are inexperienced in negotiating foreign contracts, especially private ones Being not acquainted with international trade conditions often result in disputes, litigation, and ineffective business Therefore, the role of international settlement specialists is very important As a consultant, Vietcombank could advise clients on contractual terms, select payment terms which are suitable for each mode of payment The more effective consultant services are, the more trust and mutual understanding Vietcombank would create for clients This can help the bank maintain strong relationship with enterprises and get access to the new ones Thus, Vietcombank should thriving for the ability to give clients a broader view on scope of trade and export operations, with deep understanding of international trade conditions and relevant legal base and regulations of Vietnam The implementation of consulting services is quite complex It requires soft skills such as communication skills and long-time experience from every bankers and bank leaders In order to carry out this service, it is necessary to have regular training plans for bank staff in line with the changing market trend Thanks to the development of consulting services, the bank's revenue has been increased through fee collection If consultant services are effectively implicated, more clients will want to make settlements at Vietcombank, the fee collected from the operation will increase, and thus, it will also increase the efficiency of international settlement operations 55 3.2.1.5 Expanding the network of operations abroad In the ineffective competition between Vietnamese banks and foreign banks, the bank's extensive global network of branches is required Foreign banks with a widespread network around the world, when expanding to the Vietnamese market, have made the market for foreign currency exchange and foreign currency trading of Vietnamese banks significantly reduced Previously, Vietcombank has many representative offices in several countries such as USA, France, Australia, Singapore, financial company in Hong Kong At present, Vietcombank is the only financial institution in Hong Kong and its representative office in Singapore, which is too small for foreign banks Therefore, the need to expand overseas branches in the current trend of globalization is a practical task of commercial banks The expansion of overseas branches would bring many benefits to the bank: - Capture market information and foreign traders to advise banks and domestic clients to conduct business in the most profitable way, preventing business risks - Being the advantage for Vietcombank to approach the requirements of clients, to complete the payment process for domestic and foreign clients, thereby shortening the payment time, bringing efficiency to the international payment 3.2.1.6 Developing an effective corresponding bank system The expansion of the bank's operating network partly is to meet the demand and promotes the development of the industry To so, the Vietcombank needs to consolidate International settlement data through each correspondent bank, each region, each market in combination with other operations to analyze and evaluate As a result, Vietcombank's corresponding banks are limited to developing corresponding relationships with each correspondent bank, each region and each market On the other hand, it is not for the sake of urgent need to expand its corresponding banks system, but the expansion must be considered on the basis of practical and 56 effective use to avoid waste Thus, associated with the increase in corresponding relationship should be the increase in quality as well as the sales volume, which will show the effect of depth in the operations of Vietcombank Credit rating agencies are considered as an effective risk management Vietcombank should establish a procedure for assessing the trust of the correspondent bank on the basis of assessing the level of risk of the correspondent bank in relation to the level of national and global economic risks to determine the capacity of the correspondent bank to fulfill its obligations as a correspondent bank so that it could maintain or terminate the correspondent bank relationship Credit rating agencies could be assessed through some basic indicators such as: - Return on Equity (ROE): This indicator in US banks average 15%, European banks 11.4%, Asian banks 10% 11 - Return on Assets: according to international practice, ROA 2% 12 kinds of high quality - Capital adequacy ratio: At present, in Vietnam, this ratio is 8%, which is similar to the Basel standard widely used by banking systems in the world This indicator is an important criterion for determining the ability of a bank to pay time debt and face other types of risks such as credit risk and operational risk In other words, when Vietcombank guarantees this ratio, it creates a buffer against financial shocks, protects itself and protects depositors Currently, the corresponding network of Vietcombank is not large enough, making it difficult for international settlement operations of enterprises when participating in international trade in some areas In particular, the African market in general and the South African market in particular are key markets for the promotion of trade outside of China, the US, the EU and Japan The South African market is a relatively easy-going market for Vietnam's consumer products and has not been well-exploited Therefore, Vietcombank should study, expand corresponding 57 relationship with banks in this area in order to develop more international settlement, best serve client needs In addition, Vietcombank needs to further develop its correspondent banking services that are being implemented at Vietcombank such as account opening services, code verification services, consultancy services and information provision; Research and apply new corresponding bank services such as: providing services and managing loans, guarding services in the near future Promote the propaganda and advertising on Vietcombank in order to effectively distribute Vietcombank's products to domestic and international clients as well as enhance competitiveness of Vietcombank and other commercial banks through the system of foreign correspondent banks and in coordination with Vietnamese commercial counselors in foreign countries to introduce the operation of Vietcombank with foreign clients, gradually play an important role in international trade operations among countries in the world 3.2.1.7 Enhancing the capacity of bank managers and staffs to meet international requirements of the bank Manpower, the factor that determines the success of a business In fact, it has proved that all operational risks caused by human beings have affected the efficiency of banking business, the poor management of managers could lead to long-term degradation In order to survive and develop to keep up with banks in the region and in the world, the banking industry in general and Vietcombank in particular should pay attention to training program The first thing to is developing a specific human resource strategy with the objective of building a team of international settlement specialists with sufficient knowledge and capacity to devote and work to meet the requirements of innovation and international integration in banking To be more details, it is necessary to carry out the following tasks: 58 - Organizing workshops for specialists as well as leaders to share updating international settlement information, practices, case studies together - Organizing the professional contests or research competitions among branches and centers annually - Organizing classes to enhance language proficiency in both writing, reading, listening and speaking skills - Seeking for staffs who are efficient in more than 02 foreign languages because the business network of Vietcombank will not be limited in English-speaking countries or enterprises 3.2.1.8 Upgrading and installing new technology Focusing on technology development strategy, in which the priority of technology investment could be the first solution to improve the business capacity of the bank The support of information technology is decisive so that the service operations can be quick and convenient (especially in International payment) The best tool to win the competition in banking industry is technology, and only advanced banking technology could design high quality products to meet client needs This requires banking transactions to be made through an automated system that improves the civilization of payment, contributes to the diversification of banking services, and brings about quality to clients The first thing to be mentioned is the core banking of Vietcombank The bank is really in need of a new software that can meet the needs of clients The software should be adaptable with both old and new products and minimize the possibility of errors There are choices that the bank either built its in-house software or buys a software from technology companies FPT is one of some core banking providers of Vietnam with it core banking “SmartBank”, which is currently used by Agribank The latest software that is used by many foreign and domestic commercial banks is T24 from Terminos company Vietcombank can either buy one module or the 59 whole software for its usage as the installation and upgrading process can take a long time and so much effort for rehearsal before actual usage Apart from core banking, Vietcombank should also consider the prospects of blockchain - the upcoming technology has been expected to revolutionize the banking industry in the next decade There are two primary reasons for it, which are low cost and high speed Naturally, banks process tons of transactions each day, which is exactly why it will likely be one of the industries to change the most from blockchain Blockchain can be explained as a mathematical model for processing, securing, and finalizing transactions The blockchain process is quite simple First, someone requests to make a transaction Once they do, computers, or “nodes,” jump to work processing the transaction When the nodes are finished, blockchain verifies the transaction, gives it a unique address, completes it, and places it as a new block within the strand of existing blocks In 2016, 60% of financial organizations planed on using blockchain for international money transfers, 23% for security clearing and settlement, and 20% for Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations and anti-money laundering services Lately, HSBC has completed the world’s first commercially viable trade-finance transaction using blockchain “The transaction for Cargill was for a shipment of soyabeans from Argentina to Malaysia last week HSBC used the Corda blockchain platform, which was developed by technology consortium R3 Dutch bank ING, which has also adopted the technology, was a counterparty on the deal Unlike previous test transactions, the one for Cargill could be replicated if the same counterparties were involved, Mr Ramachandran said, showing that the technology is ready for commercial use He likened the advent of blockchain trade finance to the usage of standardized shipping containers, which were slowly adopted by ships, ports, railways and trade companies over several decades to eventually become the primary mode for global shipping.” – Financial Times 60 3.2.2 Collaborative recommendations to clients Situation of risks and shortcomings in International settlement - Trade Finance, mainly arising from clients, recipients of banking services, who directly participate in the international accounting process Therefore, the expansion of import and export market of enterprises also directly affects the efficiency of the bank's International settlement operations At this time, the demand for international business management would be more In addition, restrictions on the import-export business capacity of clients also affect the operation of international commercial banks Therefore, in order to improve the efficiency of international settlement operations at commercial banks, there should be coordination solutions from clients To this, importers and exporters should pay attention to the following issues: First, equipping them with professional knowledge and foreign languages for foreign trade, international practice for both business owners and practice staff before entering the international market, fully equipped with guiding documents The payment of import and export in the enterprise as a basis for reference, raising the level for both business owners and employees doing the payment of import and export Second, in compliance with the basic rules of international trade, it is not advisable to ignore or ignore specifics that create loopholes for the counterparty to refuse payment, lengthy disputes, cost incurred reduced business efficiency as well as reputation in the market Third, capture information on market prices, exchange rates and legal regulations of the State to have a suitable business strategy in the country and abroad Fourth, carefully investigate partners before placing commercial relations to avoid fraud in business Fifth, not because of the profit, to sell goods that accept the disadvantage for you, could lead to long litigation or litigation causing loss or loss of business capital 61 Sixth, be wary of lucrative business, high interest as this is one of the fraudulent tricks Seventh, carefully consider the bank's consultations to ask the counterparty to immediately adjust terms unfavorable to him or her, including terms of payment, presentation vouchers, fees and commissions I should bear the partner Eight, find and develop new markets to improve efficiency and spread risk In order to create a high efficiency in import-export business, improve competitiveness and create a brand and reputation in domestic and foreign markets, enterprises should take measures to bring their products access to new markets As a result, Vietcombank would be able to play the role of intermediary and the efficiency would bring more 3.2.3 Recommendations to the government Firstly, the need for macroeconomic environment stability The international settlement operations will be safe and effective only in a stable economic environment Second, the government should issue legal documents on international settlement In the trend of regional and world integration, banks need Government support to actively integrate but also need legal corridors to protect the operation of international settlement, to provide banks with a legal basis to resolve if the dispute occurs Therefore, Vietnam should have regulations and documents guiding import and export payment transactions and these regulations should not be contrary to international practices but must comply with Vietnamese law Third, the Government should manage foreign exchange in line with the trend of encouraging and creating favorable conditions for the domestic foreign exchange to develope with full set of derivatives in order to support the development of international payment 62 Fourthly, the Government should take measures to expand the relationship and sign agreements defining the establishment of export guarantee for export goods in high risk markets CHAPTER III: CONCLUSION From the advantages and drawbacks in Chapter II, the author gives some recommendations to Vietcombank to enhance the efficiency of international settlement operations on the basis of making the best use of the advantages and minimizing the drawbacks This includes: - International risk management - Close coordination with other supporting departments - Implementing banking marketing strategy - Developing consulting services - Expanding the network of operations abroad - Developing an effective corresponding bank system - Enhancing the capacity of bank managers and staffs to meet international requirements of the bank - Upgrading and installing new technology Apart from recommendations to Vietcombank, there are also collaborative recommendations to clients and recommendations to the government 63 CONCLUSION The content of the thesis has achieved the following results: First, the thesis gives fundamental theories of international settlement, contributes an approach of evaluating the efficiency of international settlement operations of commercial banks in Vietnam Second, the thesis introduces the international settlement operations of the Foreign Trade Bank of Vietnam, the reality and assessment Third, the thesis analyzes the profit from international settlement operations and other relative ratios from 2015 to 2017 after the establishment of the second International settlement – Trade finance Center in Ho Chi Minh city From this, the author gives comments and evaluation for the efficiency of international settlement operations of Vietcombank in the given period Fourth, the thesis gives recommendations to Vietcombank, its clients and the government on enhancing the efficiency of international settlement operations 64 REFERENCES Foreign Trade Bank of Vietnam, Annual Reports and Income Statements (2015 – 2017) Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, Annual Reports (2015 – 2017) Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade, Annual Reports (2015 – 2017) Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Annual Reports (2015 – 2017) Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank, Annual Reports (2015 – 2017) UCP 600, ICC’s New Rules on Documentary Credits Frederic S Miskin, The economics of Money, Banking and Financial Market New York – 1992 Tran Nguyen Hop Chau (2009), Solutions to enhance the operating international settlement of commercial banks in Vietnam Pham Minh Thu (2013), Solutions to enhance the efficiency of operating international settlement at Vietcombank in the period of 2008 – 2013 Websites: 10 https://www.vietcombank.com.vn/ 11 https://www.bankingtech.com/2016/10/hsbc-private-bank-live-with-newcore-banking-system-avaloq-banking-suite/ 12 https://ibsintelligence.com/ibs-journal/ibs-news/c381-ibsj-archive/c483-ibsjournal-archive-2013/case-study-standard-chartered/ 13 https://www.ft.com/content/c0670eb6-5655-11e8-bdb7-f6677d2e1ce8