Vietnam’s merged bank offers highest interest rate on gold deposits
Gold deposit interest rate of the merged bank Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB) still exceeds 4 percent per annum, marking the highest rate in the local banking system, the local newspaper VnExpress reported Wednesday.
The “new” Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), an entity formed by the merger of TinNghiaBank, Ficombank and the “old” SCB still offers the interest rate on gold deposits at 4.35 percent per annum (p.a).
Specifically, after the merger, Vietnam Tin Nghia Bank also raised its gold deposit interest rate to over 4 percent p.a. instead of 3.7 percent p.a. previously.
In the first official working day (January 3, 2012) after the merger, staff of a transaction office of Vietnam Tin Nghia Bank in Ba Dinh district (Hanoi) said with new deposits, the current gold saving interest rate is also exceeding 4 percent p.a. Before the merger, this bank’s highest gold deposit interest rate was only 3.7 percent p.a.
Accordingly, with term of 2-months for eight gold taels, the original saving interest rate was 3.2 percent p.a., plus preferential interest rate, the real gold saving interest rate will be up to 4.25 percent p.a. However, this is not the highest gold deposit interest rate at this branch. According to the transaction staff, with this volume of gold but for term of 6-months, the highest interest rate will be 4.55 percent p.a. after including preferential interest rate.
Deputy general director of a Hanoi-based large joint stock bank said that this gold mobilisation way is relatively dangerous.
If banks can convert gold into dong to offset for liquidity, in case gold price fluctuates with too high price difference, banks may suffer losses.
The deputy general director added the conversion of gold into dong is not simple as the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) currently allows only some banks to transfer certainly raised gold into dong. Furthermore, using gold as collateral to borrow interbank capital is not easy in the context that most banks hesitate to lend to each other.
General director of another bank in Hanoi said that, the gold mobilisation of some banks is only solution to diversify operations and as a prevention tool in case of necessity, not much sense in liquidity problem.
Category: Finance
