Circular No. 02/1998/TT-NHNN17 guiding the conversion and registration of people's credit funds in regions pursuant to Government Decree No. 16/CP dated February 21, 1997

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the conversion and registration of People's Credit Funds in regions pursuant to Government Decree No. 16/CP dated February 21, 1997.

Implementing Government Decree No. 16/CP dated February 21, 1997 on the conversion and registration of Cooperatives and the operation of Cooperative Federations and State Banks, the State Bank guides the amendment and registration of People's Credit Funds in Regions as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. People's Credit Funds in Regions (QTDKV) that have been granted licenses by the State Bank and are currently operating must proceed with conversion and registration according to the Law on Cooperatives.

2. QTDKV is a Cooperative Federation established within a provincial or municipal area by voluntary formation of People's Credit Funds within the region. QTDKV implements interlinkage relationships among People's Credit Funds within its operational area regarding capital, settlement, and provision of banking services.

3. For those QTDKV that do not meet the minimum charter capital stipulated in Article 22 of Government Decree No. 16/CP dated February 21, 1997, they must take corrective measures within a specified period and submit them for review and decision by the Provincial Steering Committee for Cooperative Conversion.

4. QTDKV shall proceed with conversion and registration according to the Law on Cooperatives, independent of the progress of conversion of member People's Credit Funds.

II. SPECIFIC CONTENTS

1. Establish a preparatory committee for conversion.

a. The preparatory committee for QTDKV conversion shall be headed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of QTDKV, with members including: one representative from the Branch of the State Bank of the province or city, the head of the supervisory board, the director, and one representative from the members of QTDKV. The preparatory committee for QTDKV conversion shall be established by the Provincial Steering Committee for Cooperative Conversion.

b. The preparatory committee for QTDKV conversion will cease operations upon completion of the conversion and re-registration.

2. Tasks of the preparatory committee for conversion, contents of the Member Congress (or Representative Member Congress) shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 05/1997/TT-NHNN17 dated October 25, 1997 of the Governor of the State Bank on "Guidelines for conversion and registration of QTDND, HTXTD pursuant to Government Decree No. 16/CP dated February 21, 1997."

3. The new Charter of QTDKV must reflect the provisions of the Law on Cooperatives, specifically detailed in the Model Charter of QTDND issued under Government Decree No. 42/CP dated April 29, 1997, and related legal documents. The organization and operation of QTDKV need to be adjusted according to the Law on the State Bank and the Law on Credit Organizations recently passed by the National Assembly, effective from October 1, 1998. When there is a Government Decree on the implementation of these two Laws, the State Bank will issue supplementary guidance documents concerning QTDND generally and QTDKV specifically.

4. Registration of activities:

Upon conversion according to the Law on Cooperatives, QTDKV does not need to apply for a new business license, but must obtain confirmation from the State Bank for the application of the new Charter and approval of the list of Board of Directors, Supervisory Board, and Director members. Documents to be sent to the Central Bank include:

a. Resolution of the Congress agreeing to conversion and registration for business according to the Law on Cooperatives;

b. The Charter of operation approved by the Member Congress;

c. Plan for handling capital and assets;

d. Annual plan for operations;

đ. List and brief biographies of Board of Directors, Supervisory Board, and Director members.

5. Business registration:

After completing the procedures for converting activities according to the Law on Cooperatives and obtaining approval from the Central State Bank, QTDKV proceeds to establish a business registration dossier to be submitted to the Department of Planning and Investment at the location where the Fund has its main office to request the People's Committee of the province or city to issue a business registration certificate according to the Government's regulations.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular takes effect fifteen days after the date of signature. Previous regulations contrary to this Circular are no longer in force.

2. QTDKV must implement the conversion within the time limit set by the Government. The organization of the Member Congress to decide on conversion should be combined with the annual congress at the beginning of 1998.

3. The Head of the Governor's Office, Heads of Departments managing people's credit organizations, heads of relevant units of the Central State Bank, Directors of State Bank Branches in provinces and cities, and Chairmen of the Board of Directors of QTDKV are responsible for organizing the implementation of the provisions of this Circular.

Any issues encountered during implementation should be promptly reported to the Central State Bank for resolution./.