Hanoi, Vietnam and Washington D.C., November 9, 2009 — The Institute of International Finance, the global association of financial services firms, will hold its annual Asian regional financial leaders' conference for the first time ever in Hanoi, Vietnam on November 12-13, 2009, with co-hosts JSC Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and JSC Military Bank. "This event represents an important milestone on Vietnam's journey to become more engaged in global finance and the global economy, and for its leading banks to enhance their participation with peers from across Asia in exchanging views on today's critical economic and financial issues," said Mr. Charles Dallara, IIF Managing Director.

Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh, Chairman of the Board of Directors, JSC Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), noted, "We are delighted to be joining with our partners in co-hosting this meeting, which is most timely given the range of key issues now facing the global economy in the aftermath of the international financial crisis. We believe that Vietnam's economy and its leading financial institutions are well positioned to deepen their ties with the international economy and the global financial community and we therefore consider this forthcoming conference to be exceptionally important for us and for our country."

Mr. Le Van Be, President and CEO of JSC Military Bank, said, "I want to extend my thanks to the IIF for developing this significant event. The outstanding list of participants at this conference from across Asia and beyond underscores the mounting foreign interest in our economy and in the development of our financial sector. We warmly welcome this interest and believe that our meeting here will open new doors for Vietnam as we seek to develop our international contacts and businesses."

• Emerging From the Global Financial and Economic Crisis: the road ahead
• The New Global Financial Regulatory Landscape: impact on/influence of Asia
• Outlook for the Banking Industry: regional partnerships and financial integration
• Vietnam: economic and financial reforms and prospects for the future
• Lending to SMEs and Micro Credit: their role in Asia's economic growth.

Mr. Nguyen Van Giau, Governor, State Bank of Vietnam, has been invited to deliver the keynote address at the opening dinner of the conference. A discussion on "Vietnam: Economic and Financial Reforms and Prospects for the Future" will be chaired by Mr. Pham Quang Dung, Deputy General Director, JSC Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and speakers will include Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, Vice Chairman of National Financial Supervisory Commission, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Bao, Director, Monetary Policy Department, State Bank of Vietnam and Mr. Le Van Be, Chief Executive Officer, JSC Military Bank.

The program of lead speakers and panelists, which may be subject to change, at the meeting at Hanoi's Westlake Hotel include Mr. Hung Tran, IIF Counsellor & Senior Director, Capital Markets and Emerging Markets Policy; Mr. John P. Finigan, Chief Executive Officer, Golomt Bank of Mongolia; Mr. Takashi Oyama, Adviser for Global Strategy of the Group, The Norinchukin Group; Mr. Edwin M. Truman, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics; Dr. Mark Lawrence, Managing Director, Mark Lawrence Group and Senior Advisor, McKinsey & Company; Dato' Sri Nazir Razak, Group Chief Executive, Non-Executive Deputy Chairman, CIMB Group; Dr. Kevin Lu, Director and Chief Financial Officer, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (The World Bank Group); Mr. Benedict Bingham, Senior Resident Representative, International Monetary Fund; Dr. Cao Si Kiem, Chairman, Vietnam SME Association; Mr. Alistair Bulloch, Chief Executive Officer, North East Asia, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Ltd; Mr. Tetsuya Wada, Chief Executive Officer for Asia and Oceania, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., and Ms. Margarete O. Biallas, Program Manager, Access to Finance, International Finance Corporation (The World Bank Group).