Singapore co
Vietnam tradVietnamese people using more banking services: survey
VietNamNet Bridge – The management consulting firm McKinsey has released a report about the attitude and standpoints of Vietnamese people, especially youth, to banking services.
The report is part of the firm’s survey about retail markets conducted in 11 countries and territories in Asia, including China, India, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia. 
Young people have become more open to foreign banks
Though witnessing rapid development in recent years, the retail banking scale of Vietnam remains small. The total assets of banks by the end of 2006 were estimated at $75bil, or 123% of GDP. Meanwhile, the figures were $226bil (110%) in Thailand and 302bil (195%) in Malaysia. Less than 10% of the Vietnamese population uses banking services.
However, according to McKinsey, the retail banking turnover may grow by over 25% in the next 5-10 years, turning Vietnam into one of the markets with the highest growth rate in Asia. This is a result of strong economic growth, higher incomes of households and the low penetration of banking services in the lives of people.
The report shows that over 70% of households in cities have the annual average income of VND57mil ($3,562).
Young Vietnamese people are more open than their previous generations to banking services in general, and modern banking services in particular.
McKinsey said that Vietnamese people from 21-29 will play a very important role in shaping the retail banking market.
Regarding the attitudes of Vietnamese people to banking services, McKinsey has discovered five interesting characteristics.
First, young people use banking services more than elderly people.
Every person between the ages of 21-29 uses two or three banking services, while elderly people only use 1.9 services. 91% of people at these ages have savings accounts, while only 55% of people of more than 30 years old have savings accounts. 89% of young clients have debit cards, higher than the ratio of 40% of elderly clients.
Second, more Vietnamese young people use distance banking services than old people.
Third, young people are also more interested in borrowing money from banks than old people.
45% of polled young people say that loans may help them improve their living standards, while only 31% of old people say so. Young people don’t think that it is unwise and risky to borrow money as old people do.
Fourth, young people have become more open to foreign banks.
60% of Vietnamese people say that the presence of foreign banks in Vietnam will benefit them, while 73% of young people say so.
The opportunities for foreign banks in Vietnam are bigger than in other countries. Only 22% of Taiwanese people say that it is a good thing to have foreign banks, while the figure is 54% in the Philippines.
However, the polled Vietnamese people still think highly about the role of domestic banks. Vietnamese people will use the services of any bank, domestic or foreign, provided that the bank provides good services.
Fifth, people in the south have a more open attitude than people in the north. 42% of people in the south say that they will give telephone banking services a try, while only 24% of people in Hanoi say so.
(Source: TBKTVN)
