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COVER STORY

he recent Van Thinh Phat Group
EVOLUTIONARY T financial irregularities and murky
scandal, exposing a tangled web of
ownership structures, has cast a harsh spot-
STEP light on Vietnam’s banking sector. The Saigon
Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), allegedly
used as a “financial instrument” to funnel
billions under the direction of Truong My
As Vietnam cracks down on concentrated power in its banks, a Lan, the chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat,
domino e!ect is set into motion that may either usher in a golden stands at the heart of this unsettling saga.
age of transparency or trigger market tremors. The case serves as a stark reminder of
a deeper issue: the lack of transparency
| By DONALD TRAN and accountability within Vietnam’s bank-
ing system, particularly regarding own-
ership. The amended Law on Credit Insti-
tutions, however, represents a significant
step forward in addressing this challenge.
Effective from this July, the Law will
implement a crucial change: reducing the
maximum institutional shareholding from
15 per cent to 10 per cent. A similar cut
applies to combined shareholder and
related party limits, down from 20 per
cent to 15 per cent. Individual ownership

12 | VIETNAM ECONOMIC TIMES | MARCH 2024 en.vneconomy.vn