Central bank assures panicked depositors after board member dies

After SCB’s branches were filled with customers who wanted to either withdraw their deposits or inquire about their safety Friday afternoon, the State Bank of Vietnam publicly assured that the lender’s operations remained normal.

Nguyen Tien Thanh passed away suddenly late Thursday, reportedly from a stroke.

Thanh has been SCB’s board member since April 2017. He was also the chairman and CEO of Tan Viet Securities.

Rumors that his death impacted the bank began to surface on social media investment groups after his death.

Some customers said they could not make transfers on the bank’s app Friday afternoon, but the problem was resolved soon.

The central bank said in a press release Saturday that it is monitoring the situation to ensure the bank operates normally and would “guarantee the rights” of depositors.

“Customers should not withdraw their money before maturity.”

SCB is the largest private bank in terms of assets and among the five largest with over VND760 trillion as of the end of the second quarter.

It has been offering high deposit interest rates for years. The rate is now 7.3% for a 12-month term.