JDB: Update on Operations, Official Partnerships, and the Institutional Modernisation Programme
Joint Development Bank Public (JDB) is issuing this communication to provide its clients, institutional partners, regulatory authorities, and the wider public with a series of updates regarding the Bank’s operational activity, its official partnerships, and the modernisation agenda currently underway.
1. Payment operations and compliance with international regimes
The Bank maintains its integration with, and operates through, the principal international payment networks and systems, ensuring uninterrupted access for its clients to cross-border banking operations. JDB sustains active connectivity to the SWIFT network for international financial messaging, operates as an issuing member of the global Visa scheme, and provides acceptance for the principal international card schemes, including Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, and JCB. These systems form the core infrastructure through which JDB serves its clientele in the international space and represent the Bank’s operational priority in safeguarding business continuity.
In this context, JDB confirms that it does not provide processing services for transactions effected through cards of the Mir system. No terminal, payment gateway, or operational channel of the Bank is connected to the Mir infrastructure, and the commercial relationship with the National Payment Card System of the Russian Federation (NSPK) has been definitively terminated.
Equally, JDB does not accept payments or settlements in Russian rubles or in any other currency of jurisdictions subject to international sanctions regimes, whether through direct correspondent channels or through related financial messaging systems. The Bank has completed its disconnection from the System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) and no longer maintains account or correspondent relationships with financial institutions subject to international restrictive measures.
Furthermore, the scope of JDB’s services does not include operations with crypto-assets. The Bank does not offer, intermediate, or facilitate transactions involving digital assets of any nature, and conducts its activity in full compliance with the regulatory framework issued by the Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL) and with the national legislation applicable to credit institutions. Any modification of the scope of services will be announced exclusively through the Bank’s official channels, following the receipt of the corresponding regulatory approvals.
JDB’s objective is to ensure continuity of activity and uninterrupted access to international banking operations for its clients. As a commercial bank, JDB maintains its alignment with the international standards applicable to the financial sector, as a fundamental element in the functioning of its correspondent relationships, its cross-border payment flows, and its global partnerships.
2. Official partnerships
JDB conducts its banking activity in its own name and on behalf of its direct clients. The Bank does not act as a sponsoring institution for other banks or financial entities, does not extend its licence, infrastructure, or compliance framework to third parties for the purpose of supporting their operations, does not provide services to the clients of other financial institutions on a delegated or agency basis, and does not facilitate the activity of other banks or of their respective customers, whether in fiat currency or in digital assets. The Bank’s correspondent relationships are confined to standard interbank settlement and messaging, conducted under recognised international protocols and with counterparties that meet JDB’s compliance standards.
In particular, JDB confirms that it holds no active partnerships, neither formal nor operational, with crypto-asset platforms, virtual currency exchanges, providers of digital asset services, or other entities within the crypto ecosystem. Any claim to the contrary, regardless of its source, is without foundation.
At the same time, JDB has not authorised, and does not authorise, the use of its name, brand, logo, visual materials, or any other elements of its corporate identity in promotional campaigns, commercial materials, web pages, social media accounts, or applications belonging to third parties. Instances have been identified in which certain companies, platforms, or intermediaries have publicly presented services as “integrated with JDB” or “in partnership with JDB,” without any contractual or operational basis for such representations.
The only partnerships, integrations, and institutional collaborations of JDB are those announced and confirmed through the Bank’s official channels. Any other public representation does not bind JDB and should not be treated as authoritative by clients, partners, or the public.
3. Addressing the unauthorised use of JDB’s identity
JDB operates a coordinated programme for the protection of its institutional identity, which is being actively expanded. The Bank has already initiated, and will continue to intensify, firm measures against any natural or legal person who, directly or indirectly, uses the JDB name, brand, or visual identity elements without written authorisation; publicly presents services as offered, supported, or integrated with JDB without a valid contractual basis to that effect; disseminates promotional materials, communications, or information with the potential to mislead the public; or otherwise affects the reputation of JDB through false advertising, defamation, or any other form of misrepresentation concerning the Bank’s commercial position.
JDB will undertake all necessary steps to protect the integrity of its brand, the continuity of its operations, the interests of its clients and partners, and the institutional values that define the Bank. Where appropriate, the Bank will avail itself of the legal and administrative measures provided by applicable legislation, both within the territory of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and in the jurisdictions of its relevant international partners.
To that end, JDB will launch a dedicated reporting section on its official website, through which clients, partners, and the wider public will be able to flag materials, campaigns, or platforms making unauthorised use of the JDB name. Each report will be reviewed by the Bank’s internal compliance and brand protection team, and the corresponding actions will be undertaken without delay.
4. Institutional modernisation programme
JDB is currently executing a structured programme of updates to its policies, procedures, and operational infrastructure, with the objective of consolidating the Bank’s position as a leading financial institution in the region. The programme, already in execution, is organised in successive phases and benefits from the support of international consultants and specialists across each of its principal workstreams, ranging from sanctions compliance and banking governance through to financial technologies, information security, and prudential standards.
The programme encompasses a comprehensive review of the Bank’s internal compliance framework, with emphasis on international sanctions, controls relating to dual-use items, anti-money-laundering and counter-financing-of-terrorism (AML/CFT) procedures, and know-your-customer and customer-due-diligence (KYC/CDD) standards. It includes the implementation of a new generation of banking information systems, comprising solutions for the digitalisation of operational flows, the automation of compliance controls, and the modernisation of the client experience. The Bank is concurrently developing its capabilities for threat detection and transaction monitoring, through advanced technologies for risk analysis and real-time sanctions screening. JDB is enhancing its internal procedures and reinforcing their alignment with the applicable international standards, including the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Basel prudential framework, the principles of the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on sanctions compliance, the European framework for financial services and markets in crypto-assets (MiCA), and the regional banking integration initiatives within the ASEAN space. The programme also strengthens the functions of internal audit, corporate governance, and regulatory reporting.
In the current dynamic of the financial industry, shaped by rapid technological progress, evolving client expectations, and the continuous development of the international regulatory environment, JDB is fully committed to undertaking all necessary measures, managing institutional change with discipline, and adapting its operations so as to uphold the highest standards of international banking, transparency, and governance, in line with the expectations of the American, European, ASEAN, and global markets in which the Bank operates.
In parallel, JDB maintains and continues to strengthen its official partnerships with leading international financial institutions, global payment service operators, and correspondent entities that meet the highest standards of compliance and governance. These institutional relationships allow the Bank to conduct its activity without interruption across multiple jurisdictions and to provide its clients with full access to international financial flows, in complete conformity with the standards applicable to the sector.
JDB reaffirms its commitment to transparency, compliance, and operational excellence, in service of the economy of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and of its international partners.
Joint Development Bank Public
Managing Director
