Bank Governor talks about 'unprecedented' cash withdrawal incident at SCB

Referring to the incident at Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB), Governor Nguyen Thi Hong said that this was an unprecedented large-scale mass withdrawal incident, affecting the liquidity of credit institutions and the confidence of foreign investors.

On the afternoon of October 28, at the end of the discussion session at the National Assembly, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong explain and clarify a number of issues raised by National Assembly delegates at the discussion session related to the real estate and capital sectors. credit

Regarding access to credit, Ms. Hong said that investment capital in the real estate market often requires large value and long term, so it needs to be mobilized from many channels and bank capital is just one channel.

Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong. Photo: Nhu Y.

According to regulations, credit institutions will decide to grant credit based on agreements with customers on loan amount, term, interest rate, etc.

In addition to doing business according to their own business purposes, credit institutions must always ensure safety ratios according to regulations of the State Bank; must ensure capital recovery to be ready to pay depositors, otherwise it may cause consequences for the credit institution itself as well as for the safety of the system and the economy.

"Therefore, even when there are feasible projects with the ability to repay debts, banks still refuse to lend because the loan term of this project may not be suitable for the bank's capital balance capacity," said Ms. Hong.

According to the Governor of the State Bank, in recent times, real estate credit increasing very rapidly. Currently, outstanding real estate credit is up to 3.15 million billion VND, equal to about 20% of the total outstanding debt of the economy.

Recalling the time when "National Assembly delegates still have not forgotten" about the incident mass withdrawal at the Bank SCB, Ms. Hong said this was an unprecedented large-scale mass withdrawal incident, affecting the liquidity of credit institutions and the confidence of foreign investors.

At that time, State Bank The highest goal must be to ensure system safety, specifically to ensure the ability to pay depositors to avoid financial crisis.

“I remember very well that at the October 2022 meeting, when the Governor spoke, he also said that depending on the time, the highest priority must be given. That is why the State Bank increased interest rates in October and has not loosened credit room so that all measures can ensure improved liquidity for the system.

When the liquidity system improved, in December, the State Bank loosened the credit room, which brought stability until today. At that time, the credit institutions are very concerned that people will withdraw money from their credit institutions. Therefore, credit institutions are very cautious when making new loans, especially for long-term real estate projects," said Ms. Hong.

Governor Nguyen Thi Hong affirmed that the State Bank always directs credit institutions to save operating costs to continue reducing lending interest rates, supporting businesses and people as well as simplifying loan procedures to save time and resources for businesses and people.

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