Vietnam’s arrest of Nguyen Duc Kien, the founder of several banks, triggered the largest stock market drop in almost four years and highlighted investor concern about the vulnerability of the country’s financial system. Kien, 48, the founder of banks including Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and Kien Long Bank, was arrested by police yesterday, the central bank said in a statement on its website... 

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will strengthen the monitoring of banks’ financial investments, including corporate bonds, as well as lending and financial investment operations on consignment. A source told the Daily this is the outcome of a meeting between the central bank and commercial banks last week. The central bank found a lot of discrepancies in banking operations which saw 19 small and... 

More commercial banks have cut deposit interest rates for the US dollar by 0.1-0.4 percentage points, showing that the State Bank’s tighter rules on dollar lending are taking effect. Sacombank is offering 4.62 per cent per year for six-month deposits under US$10,000 and 4.5 per cent for all other terms above and below six months for the same amount. For bigger deposits, the highest interest... 

More commercial banks have cut deposit interest rates for the US dollar by 0.1-0.4 percentage points, showing that the State Bank’s tighter rules on dollar lending are taking effect. Sacombank is offering 4.62 per cent per year for six-month deposits under $10,000 and 4.5 per cent for all other terms above and below six months for the same amount. For bigger deposits, the highest interest rate... 

The State Bank of Vietnam needs to hammer out appropriate measures before resorting to administrative orders when it comes to interest rate management Last week, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) promulgated Circular 02, which holds that the maximum interest for dong deposits, including bonuses, must not exceed 14% per annum. Two days later, the central bank punished Kien Long Bank and Phuong Tay Bank... 

Sacombank has set a new record for dollar deposit interest rates, offering 6.3 per cent on three-month deposits since last week. The surge in dollar deposit interest rates, also taking place at other banks, indicates a rush among banks to cut themselves a larger slice of the large remittance pie during the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival season when overseas Vietnamese typically send more money home. Kien... 

The annual deposit interest rate on US dollars had touched 6.25 per cent at the end of last week, the highest in recent months. Banks started to increase US dollar deposit interest rate in the first days of 2011 when the official amount of overseas remittances to Vietnam was announced. The Vietnam Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VietBank) was the first to raise its interest rates on dollar... 

Twelve commercial banks in Ha Noi have entered an agreement with the State Bank of Vietnam’s Ha Noi branch and the Vietnam Banking Association (VNBA) to cap deposit interest rates at 15 per cent. The agreement, which takes effect today, was made after the central bank called Techcombank and SeABank for offering interest as high as 18 per cent per year, setting off a potential interest rate war... 

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta’s strong showing in agriculture and aquaculture has become a magnet for many commercial banks, particularly those from the north of the country, looking to expand their business in coming years. Adding to the presence of native banks like KienlongBank, MHB and LienVietBank, other commercial banks have expressed interest in setting up operations in delta provinces. They... 

Though commercial banks have continuously raised deposit interest rates, the banking system cannot mobilize more capital from the public. The money just transfers from one bank to another. Most of the banks are now quoting deposit interest rates at 12 percent at maximum, but in fact, they have quietly raised the offered deposit interest rates to 13, or even 14-15 percent. Why? They have to quote interest...