Organized as a ministry-level body under the Government of Vietnam, it is the sole issuer of the national currency, the Vietnamese đồng.

After the August Revolution in 1945, the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam gradually attempted to exercise a monetary system independent from France.

On 6 May 1951, president Hồ Chí Minh signed decree 15/SL on establishment of Vietnam National Bank (Ngân hàng Quốc gia Việt Nam).

The governor is nominated by the prime minister subject to the approval of the National Assembly (Parliament).

The State Bank of Vietnam defines its principal roles as [1]: The former prime minister, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, was a governor of the bank while he held the post of senior deputy prime minister, but later bestowed the governor's post upon Le Duc Thuy.