Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank
A Vietnamese joint-stock commercial bank created in 2012 through the merger of three financially distressed banks.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank, commonly known as Saigon Commercial Bank or SCB, is a Vietnamese joint-stock commercial bank headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City. The institution was created in 2012 through the consolidation of three small banks: Saigon Commercial Bank, First Bank (Ficombank), and Vietnam Tin Nghia Bank (TinNghiaBank). The three predecessor institutions had faced severe financial pressure, including exposure to risky real-estate lending and depositor withdrawals, before the State Bank of Vietnam permitted their merger. SCB subsequently became one of Vietnam's largest banks by assets. The supplied reference material reports that its total assets exceeded VND 673,276 billion and its charter capital exceeded VND 20,020 billion as of September 30, 2021. The bank's business scope included conventional commercial-banking activities such as deposit taking, lending, payments, and the distribution or introduction of financial products. Its growth and ownership relationships, however, became closely associated with Trương Mỹ Lan, a real-estate developer and controlling figure connected to Van Thinh Phat Group. According to the cited Wikipedia account, Lan exercised control through a network of intermediaries and related entities rather than necessarily through a direct formal shareholding position. The bank became the central financial institution in a major Vietnamese fraud and corruption case. From 2012 through 2022, SCB reportedly issued more than 2,500 loans connected to Lan and companies associated with her, with the cited source estimating that these facilities represented approximately 93% of the bank's loan portfolio and had a nominal value exceeding US$44 billion. The loans were alleged to have been used to support real-estate transactions and related corporate structures. The resulting exposure left SCB vulnerable when the underlying financing arrangements came under scrutiny. Lan's arrest in October 2022 in connection with the issuance and trading of An Dong bonds triggered a substantial withdrawal of funds from SCB. Customers rushed to withdraw deposits, creating a bank run and prompting extensive government intervention. The crisis also generated complaints from depositors who said that savings had been redirected or presented as corporate bonds or Manulife life-insurance products without adequate explanation. SCB stated that it had introduced, rather than issued, certain products, while affected customers argued that bank personnel had encouraged conversions by emphasizing higher returns and failing to explain the risks clearly. In July 2023, the State Bank of Vietnam placed SCB under special control. The bank later reduced its physical network by closing branches and transaction offices. The supplied material also reports that authorities sought to identify tens of thousands of depositors who had not received expected interest or principal payments after Lan's arrest. SCB therefore remains an operating Vietnamese bank, but its recent identity is defined less by retail or corporate product differentiation than by state-supervised stabilization, depositor claims, and the continuing legal and financial consequences of the Van Thinh Phat scandal.
History
SCB was established in 2012 through the merger of three Ho Chi Minh City-based banks: Saigon Commercial Bank, First Bank, also known as Ficombank, and Vietnam Tin Nghia Bank, also known as TinNghiaBank. The predecessor banks had experienced financial distress and exposure to risky real-estate transactions. Depositors had begun withdrawing funds, and the institutions were described in the supplied reference material as facing possible bankruptcy before the consolidation was authorized by Vietnam's central bank. The merger created a much larger commercial bank, but it did not remove the underlying ownership and credit-concentration concerns. The three predecessor institutions were associated with Trương Mỹ Lan, a businesswoman and real-estate developer linked to Van Thinh Phat. The cited account states that control was maintained through more than two dozen intermediaries and related entities. Between 2012 and 2022, SCB allegedly extended more than 2,500 loans to Lan and companies connected to her. Those loans were estimated at more than US$44 billion and represented roughly 93% of SCB's loan portfolio. The lending was connected to real-estate transactions and corporate structures that later became the subject of criminal investigations. SCB expanded substantially in asset terms. By September 30, 2021, the bank reportedly had assets above VND 673,276 billion and charter capital above VND 20,020 billion, making it Vietnam's largest bank by assets according to the supplied Wikipedia material. This scale made the bank's concentrated exposure particularly consequential for depositors and for the wider Vietnamese financial system. The decisive break came in October 2022, when Trương Mỹ Lan was arrested over allegations concerning the fraud and trading of An Dong bonds. The arrest caused customers to withdraw money from SCB in large numbers. The resulting bank run exposed the bank's dependence on depositor confidence and led to state intervention. Depositors also reported that what they believed were savings transactions had been transformed into purchases of corporate bonds or Manulife life-insurance products. Customers alleged that employees had not adequately explained the nature and risks of the products and had used higher returns to encourage the transactions. SCB maintained that it had only introduced some of the products and that repayment responsibility rested with the issuing company. In July 2023, the State Bank of Vietnam placed SCB under special control. The bank subsequently closed a number of branches and transaction offices while the authorities addressed the institution's liquidity, governance, and customer-claim problems. In early 2024, police reportedly attempted to locate about 42,000 affected depositors who had not received interest or principal payments since the 2022 arrest. The bank's crisis was examined in the 2024 trials of Trương Mỹ Lan. A presiding judge stated that SCB should have been put under special control in 2018, but that a report allegedly affected by bribery delayed the intervention until 2022. Former SCB chairman Bui Anh Dung was accused of approving 404 loans connected to Lan during the period from 2013 to 2022, with the alleged loss to the bank estimated at US$8.62 billion. Lan received a death sentence in April 2024, and the supplied material states that her appeal was rejected in December 2024. A separate October 2024 conviction for money laundering resulted in a life sentence. SCB continues as an institution under state control, with its post-crisis role centered on stabilization, supervision, and resolving claims arising from the scandal.
- 2024
SCB evidence examined in the Trương Mỹ Lan trials
[1]Court proceedings examined alleged concentrated lending, delayed regulatory intervention, and the role of former SCB executives.
- 2023
Special control imposed
[1]The State Bank of Vietnam placed SCB under special control, after which the bank closed branches and transaction offices.
- 2022
Arrest connected to the Van Thinh Phat bond case
[1]The arrest of Trương Mỹ Lan was followed by a major withdrawal of funds from SCB and a bank run.
- 2021
Reported position as Vietnam's largest bank by assets
[1]The bank was reported to have assets exceeding VND 673,276 billion and charter capital exceeding VND 20,020 billion as of September 30, 2021.
- 2012
Formation through a three-bank merger
[1]Saigon Commercial Bank, Ficombank, and TinNghiaBank were consolidated to create Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank.
Products and positioning
A large Vietnamese commercial bank serving retail and corporate customers, with its current positioning shaped by state supervision and the restructuring of liabilities and depositor claims after the 2022 crisis.
Retail and corporate banking
Deposit accounts
SCB's core banking business included accepting deposits from individuals and companies. Depositor confidence became a central issue during the 2022 run on the bank, and later customer claims focused on unpaid interest, delayed principal, and the alleged reclassification of some savings transactions.
Lending
Commercial loans
The bank provided commercial credit to businesses and related borrowers. Investigators and courts later focused on the concentration of lending to Trương Mỹ Lan and associated companies, including more than 2,500 loans reported during 2012–2022.
Transaction banking
Payment and account services
As a full-service commercial bank, SCB offered ordinary account, payment, and transaction services to retail and corporate customers. The supplied sources do not provide a detailed current product catalogue.
Distributed financial products
Corporate bond and insurance introductions
Customers reported that some transactions presented as savings were redirected into corporate bonds or Manulife life-insurance products. SCB characterized itself as an introducer for at least some products, while customers alleged that bank staff had not clearly explained the change in product type or repayment risk.
Controversies
2023
Depositor complaints over bonds and insurance products
Customers alleged that employees encouraged them to replace savings with corporate bonds or life insurance without sufficiently clear explanations. The dispute continued as customers sought repayment and clarity over responsibility.
2022
Van Thinh Phat and SCB lending scandal
SCB was placed at the center of allegations that more than 2,500 loans issued between 2012 and 2022 were used for the benefit of Trương Mỹ Lan and related companies. The cited source estimated that the loans exceeded US$44 billion and represented about 93% of the bank's loan portfolio.
2022
Bank run following Trương Mỹ Lan's arrest
Lan's arrest in October 2022 triggered extensive withdrawals from SCB, producing a liquidity and confidence crisis that led to state intervention.
Brand decisions
2023
Place SCB under special controlStrategyBackground
The bank faced a run, unresolved depositor claims, and the fallout from the Van Thinh Phat investigation.
Action taken
The State Bank of Vietnam applied special-control measures and the bank subsequently closed a number of branches and transaction offices.
Aftermath
SCB continued operating under state supervision while authorities addressed stabilization and customer claims.
2012
Merge three distressed banks into SCBM&ABackground
Saigon Commercial Bank, Ficombank, and TinNghiaBank were facing financial stress, including risky real-estate exposure and depositor withdrawals.
Action taken
The State Bank of Vietnam permitted the three institutions to be consolidated into a new Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank.
Aftermath
The merger created a larger bank but did not prevent later allegations of concentrated related-party lending and governance failure.
Sources1 sources
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