NHA: Can you tell us more about some products and services that First Vietnamese American Bank offers?

HN: First Vietnamese American Bank is headquartered at 8990 Westminster Blvd., Westminster, CA 92683. The bank is a community bank serving primarily Orange County residents and businesses. The bank provides commercial loans, real estate loans, SBA loans, trade finance and consumer loans. The bank makes a special effort to serve minority-owned businesses. The bank provides a range of banking services, including 24 hours telephone banking service, on line banking, cash management service, courier service and ATM service.

NHA: Why should people bank at FVAB? What makes your bank stand out from the rest? What are some competitive edges specifically geared towards Vietnamese Americans?

HN: The majority of our customers are Vietnamese, who see in FVAB a community bank that truly serves the community. We speak their language, understand their culture, and treat them with personal touch and respect. Many of our customers said they feel “they are coming home.” Besides good services and affordable fee structure, our competitive edges are our efficiency. We are very responsive to the customer’s needs with very quick turnaround time. Further, all decisions including credit decisions can be made on spot, at our head-quartered bank. At many other banks, customer’s contacts and relationships are initiated at the branch level but credit decisions are made at the regional or head offices which causes long turnaround time and delays.

NHA: Tell us about FVAB’s mission statement.

HN: Our mission is to provide personalized service and expert knowledge through a wide range of banking products, including international services, while being sensitive and responsive to the cultural dynamics and financial needs of the communities we serve.

NHA: FVAB was established in May 2005. It is still in its infant stages as an institution. What are some short-term goals for FVAB? How about some long-term goals?

HN: Our short-term goals are to build up businesses in terms of loans and deposits and to become profitable. Our long-term goals are to serve the overseas Vietnamese community nationwide and worldwide. There are about over 3 million overseas Vietnamese living in five continents. FVAB plans to serve the Vietnamese communities worldwide.

NHA: Do you feel there is racial friction in the field of financial planning & banking? Have you had any unpleasant experience relating to that?

HN: I personally believe that certain groups of people are financially disadvantaged and therefore discriminated with respect to banking and financial services. My mother who died eight years ago, came to the U.S. in 1975 but didn’t speak English and never had a bank account. I wish she were still alive so I could open an account for her at First Vietnamese American Bank.

FVAB invites all people to come to our bank and do business with us, whether or not you are old or young, you speak only Vietnamese or you are financially well off, provided you meet certain requirements according to banking regulations.

FVAB hosts a weekly radio talk show at the Little Sai Gon Radio in Westminster to provide financial education to the Vietnamese community. Our talk show is unique because no other banks are doing it and it is very popular. Many new accounts are opened by people who listened to our radio talk show.

NHA: What do you like most about being in the banking field?

HN: Money touches life in many ways. It gives you a home. It sends your children to school. It makes your retirement worth of living. Overall it provides security for your life. Working in the financial field gives me the opportunity to serve the people and help the community grow and prosper.

NHA: How about a more personal question? What do you like most about yourself?

HN: What I like most about myself is my determination for whatever I am doing. Be it the martial arts training in the evening no matter how tired I am. Be it getting up in the morning to do weight lifting and go to meditation no matter how reluctant my body is. Be it a difficult task to accomplish no matter how challenging the task may be.