Reuters reported earlier this year that the State Bank of Vietnam–the SBV–had been injecting cash into Saigon Commercial Bank which was at the centre of Vietnam’s biggest bank fraud ever. This was to the tune of about US$24 billion. Fitch Ratings, however, has said that it is maintaining its current rating of Vietnam’s banking sector arguing that:
- The intervention speaks to the SBV’s willingness to step up and support distressed banks;
- The support is loan-based and could be recovered if assets tied to the aforementioned fraud are recovered; and
- There have been no ‘sudden share price movements, deposit flight or regulatory response’ among other major banks.