On March 13, Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam responded to the article “Shocked” due to the 15% interest rate for housing loans,” regarding the case of Ms. K.Ngan (resident in Thu Duc City) who unexpectedly had her mortgage interest rate increased from 8.5% per year to 15% per year by this bank.
According to Standard Chartered Vietnam, the bank complies with all terms and conditions in the credit agreement signed with the customer.
The mortgage interest rate that Ms. K.Ngan received notification of from the bank increased to 15% per year
“The bank has been making every effort to support customers to the best of our ability. We have notified the customer multiple times about the need to supplement documents to ensure the inspection and supervision of fund usage in accordance with regulations. Failure to provide complete documentation will result in an increase in the interest rate as agreed in the credit agreement. The increase in the interest rate is due to the customer’s failure to meet the terms of the agreement” – Standard Chartered Bank responded.
Specifically, the customer did not provide the documents proving ownership of the house purchased with borrowed capital as requested by the bank in the Loan Approval Letter. The bank asserts that the interest rate increase is completely in line with the credit agreement and has been clearly notified to the customer prior to signing the credit agreement. The interest rate applied in this case has also been continuously communicated to the customer.
Furthermore, according to Standard Chartered Vietnam, the bank has repeatedly extended the time for the customer to submit additional documents and has not immediately applied the 15% per year interest rate as stipulated in the contract to allow the customer more time to process the documents.
“However, to date, we have not received any specific information about the deadline for the customer to submit complete supplementary documents. Meanwhile, despite not fulfilling the obligations as committed, and not setting any specific date for fulfilling the obligations under the contract, the customer insists on requesting the bank to continue applying preferential interest rates” – Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam said.
Ms. K.Ngan said that she is currently continuing to work with the bank to find a resolution. According to Ms. K.Ngan, the issue with the documentation for the borrowed house is true, and she is continuing to handle it, and the interest rate increase is also not incorrect.
However, she is upset because the highest deposit interest rate at Standard Chartered is currently 3.3% per year for a 36-month term. In the initial announcement, for the mentioned preferential loan packages, the current floating interest rate is 12% per year, but Ms. K.Ngan’s loan was increased to 15% per year. Therefore, she has filed a complaint with the bank and the Người Lao Động newspaper.
