Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam Nguyen Thi Hong on Monday affirmed that deposits at commercial banks were all guaranteed in every case.

The official was talking to the media regarding recent issues related to the Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB).

The affirmation aimed to reassure people and avoid rushes for premature withdrawals.

“Depositors at SCB should stay calm and not decide to withdraw their money, especially before the due dates, to have their interest ensured,” Hong stressed. “In Viet Nam, deposits at banks, including SCB, has so far been guaranteed as safe in all cases.”

In the face of the information affecting SCB operations, the central bank had applied necessary measures to help the commercial lender run normally, and ensure its liquidity, she added.

Hong stressed that the central bank always sets the goal of being consistent in management to contribute to controlling inflation, stabilising the macro-economy and currency, and ensuring the safety of operations of the banking system, including SCB.

The central bank also strengthened supervision to strictly handle cases of enticing customers of SCB to deposit money at other banks, Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu said on Saturday.

In recent days, people who had deposits at SCB were flocking to withdraw their money before maturity over the worry that the bank’s operation might be affected by the arrest of some people for violations in the issuance of bonds related to An Dong Group, a member of Van Thinh Phat Group Holdings Corporation, including Truong My Lan, chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat.

In a press release on Saturday, SCB said that An Dong was not a stakeholder of SCB and Truong My Lan did not hold any management positions at SCB. The arrest did not affect the normal operation of SCB, the bank said.

It also committed to have adequate solutions and resources to ensure interests of depositors, partners and customers in accordance with the established laws. — VNS