Vietnam's MB Bank Completes Mandatory Takeover of OceanBank Under State Bank Directive

Vietnam's Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank — MB Bank — completed the mandatory transfer of OceanBank on 17 October 2024, with the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam formally handing the decision to MB Bank's chairman at a ceremony marking the close of the transaction. OceanBank becomes a one-member limited liability company wholly owned by MB Bank under the transfer, with the State Bank of Vietnam confirming that depositors' rights are guaranteed in full under the new ownership structure.

The transfer is one of four so-called zero-dollar bank mandatory acquisitions planned by the State Bank of Vietnam as part of its programme to resolve weak institutions. OceanBank had been operating under special control for a number of years before the mandatory transfer.

ZERO-DOLLAR RESOLUTION MECHANICS

Under Vietnam's mandatory transfer framework, the State Bank of Vietnam compels a financially sound institution to assume ownership and operational control of a failing bank, typically at a nominal transfer price of zero dong.

DEPOSITOR PROTECTION

The State Bank of Vietnam communicated the guarantee of depositor rights under MB Bank's ownership as part of the formal handover process.

The Vietcombank-CBBank transfer was also completed on 17 October 2024.