HOSE: SCB[1] | |
Industry | Financial services |
Founded | January 1, 2012 |
Headquarters | No. 19-21-23-25, Nguyen Hue Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City |
Area served | Vietnam |
Key people | Phan Đình Điền Phạm Quang Tiến Trương Mỹ Lan Vo Tan Hoang Van, CEO[2] |
Total assets | 673.276 billion VND (2021) |
Number of employees | 6,700 (2021) |
Website | https://www.scb.com.vn/ |
Sai Gon Joint Stock Commercial Bank or Saigon Commercial Bank, abbreviated as SCB (Vietnamese: Ngân hàng Thương mại cổ phần Sài Gòn),[3] is the largest commercial bank in Vietnam by assets, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City.[4][5][6] It was founded by the fusion of 3 small banks and was controlled by businesswoman and real estate developer Trương Mỹ Lan. From 2012 until 2022 SCB issued Lan 93% of its loan portfolio, more than 2,500 loans worth over US$44 billion.
Her defrauding $11.5 billion and corruption is considered the largest fraud scandal in Southeast Asia's history[7][8] and led to her arrest in 2022, causing a bank run. The bank is since under state control.
Sai Gon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) was established in 2012 from the merger of three banks: First Bank (Ficombank), Vietnam Tin Nghia Bank (TinNghiaBank), and Saigon Bank (SCB), all of which were headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City.[9][10] The three small banks were controlled by businesswoman and real estate developer Trương Mỹ Lan and had faced bankruptcy in 2011;[11] The banks had invested their deposits in loans for risky real estate transactions, so customers pulled out their money.[11] Nevertheless, the Vietnamese Central Bank allowed the fusion of these 3 banks, with continued control of Trương Mỹ Lan through more than 2 dozen middlemen, and 93 percent of loans going to her company Van Thinh Phat and associated straw companies.[11] From 2012 until 2022 SCB issued Lan more than 2,500 loans worth over $44 billion, which was equivalent to 93% of SCBs loan portfolio.[12]
As of September 30, 2021, SCB had total assets of over 673,276 billion VND[13][14] and charter capital of over 20,020 billion VND.[15][16] It has been Vietnam's largest bank by assets.[17]
On October 6, 2022, Truong My Lan, chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group, was arrested on charges of fraud in the issuance and trading of An Dong bonds.[8] Vietnamese sources refer to October 8.[18][19][20]
This led to a bank run, a massive withdrawal of money by customers at SCB.[21][22][23]
As of November 2023, many customers who made savings deposits at SCB were converted[when?] into corporate bond purchases[24][25] or Manulife life insurance.[26][27] According to the records, many customers have made savings deposits, but were misled[when?] by the bank's employees due to changes in their explanations.[28][29] In 2023, they met with SCB's leaders many times but did not receive a clear answer about when they would be refunded.[30][31] In January 2023, SCB affirmed that they only introduced the product and are not responsible for refunding, the responsibility belongs to the bond issuing company.[32][33] As a result, customers accused SCB of being deliberately vague in their consulting and using high interest rates to lure them into switching to buying bonds.[34]
In July 2023, the State Bank of Vietnam decided to apply special control measures to SCB. Subsequently, the bank continuously closed branches and transaction offices.[35]
As of January 2024, police supposedly tried to find about 42,000 defrauded depositors, who have not received interest or principal payments since the arrest of Lan in October 2022.[36]
In March 2024, the judge presiding over the trial of Trương Mỹ Lan said that "SCB should have been placed under special control by the government in 2018", but because of a bribed report by an inspector at the State Bank of Vietnam "the decision was delayed until 2022.[37] The former chairman of the bank, Bui Anh Dung was accused of approving 404 loans to Truong My Lan between 2013 and 2022, which cost the bank US$8.62 billion.[38]