State Bank Governor: Banks return to normal after officials arrested

The Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) in particular and the Vietnamese banking system in general have returned to normal operations after banking mogul Nguyen Duc Kien and the bank's ex-general director Ly Xuan Hai were arrested, according to SBV Governor.

SBV Governor Nguyen Van Binh

Kien was arrested for illegal activity involving three firms he owns, and Hai was detained for four months because of intentionally violating State regulations on economic management. Kien is among the founders of ACB and now holds 5% stake in the bank. While Hai was a member of ACB's board of directors and ACB's general director from March 2008 to August 23:

Interview with SBV Governor:

The cases of Nguyen Duc Kien and Ly Xuan Hai have affected the domestic banking and financial systems over the past days, causing worry. What is current state of the operation of ACB in particular and the banking system in general?

The deposit withdraws sharply increased from August 21-24, but dropped again on August 25. But in general, five days after Nguyen Duc Kien and Le Xuan Hai were arrested, operations of ACB and other banks have gone back to normal.

Which measures will SBV use to more closely monitor banks?

Thanks to the close co-operation among the Ministry of Public Security, the SBV, the Central Committee for Propaganda and Training and the Ministry of Information and Communications we are able to work out scenarios for future risks.

Despite a considerable fall in deposits, ACB is able to meet demand for VND, foreign currencies and gold because of adaptations made.

Not only the SBV but also other credit organisations have also helped to stabilise the market. Effective communications also help to bring people accurate information, easing their worry.

How will banks’ operation be in the coming days?

The SBV will take all necessary measures to stabiles the banking system, including ACB.

What message would you like to send to people at this time?

Based on the events of the past five days, as well as the SBV’s preventive measures for the next week, I want to say that people can feel confident and there is no need to make panic withdraws from ACB. This could lead to loss of interest for the customer and cause a run on banks.