HCMC – Tran Phuong Binh, former general director of DongA Commercial Bank, died yesterday evening, June 18, according to local media reports.
The 65-year-old had many years of teaching experience before leading DAB for two decades. He served as general director of DongA Bank from 1998 and was vice chairman of the bank’s board of directors from 2013 to 2015.
Before experiencing difficulties, DongA was a strong retail bank and a leader in card products. It was the first bank in Vietnam to independently develop and operate automatic gold-selling ATMs, deploy mobile ATMs, and introduce auto banking booths with the largest direct cash deposit capability in the country.
Between 2008 and 2012, Binh and the bank’s leadership committed numerous violations by heavily investing in real estate to extend credit.
As the real estate market began to freeze, bad debts and significant losses ensued, leading to the bank being placed under special control. Consequently, Binh was suspended from his position as general director and arrested in 2015.
Until his death, Binh had to serve five sentences, with a total penalty of life imprisonment, due to violations that occurred at DongA Bank.
