When Indochina was under French rule, the colonial government governed the Indochinese monetary system through Indochinese Bank, which also acted as a commercial bank in French Indochina. 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 National Bank of Vietnam ("Ngân hàng Quốc gia Việt Nam"). On 21 January 1960, the governor of the bank signed an ordinance on behalf of the prime minister to rename the bank State Bank of Vietnam ("Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam").