Yesterday’s surprising arrest of ACB’s founder and one of Vietnam’s most well-known tycoons Nguyen Duc Kien will not have any impact on the bank performance, said a senior leader of Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB).

“It is a personal issue (of Kien),” said Nguyen Thanh Toai, deputy general director cum spokesman of ACB.

“Kien is no longer a major shareholder, nor a board member, and are not involved in the bank’s board of executives.”

"The detention of Kien is the decision of the authorities so it does not affect the normal operation of the bank," Toai stressed.

Toai told Tuoi Tre that since Kien is no longer a major shareholder, Kien is not obliged to disclose information about the ACB shares owned by him and his family members.

Kien is holding less than 5 percent of ACB shares, Toai said.

According to ACB’s annual report last year, Kien used to serve as chairman of the bank’s Investment Council. He was then a permanent member of the ACB’s Human Resources Committee and a member of ACB’s Risk Management Committee.

Also according to ACB’s report, Kien was the elected Chairman-cum-CEO of the Board of Asia Financial Group which was established in 2009 in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem District.

Kien was the vice president of the ACB Board of Founders consisting of 6 members who withdrew from the ACB board of directors in 2008. The board was said to be established by the bank’s biggest shareholders to advise the board of directors and the executive board on the management and administration of the bank.

However, about 4 months ago, the State Bank of Vietnam asked ACB to dismiss the board since it was not established in accordance with the local Law on Credit Institutions. As a result, the ACB Board of Founders no longer exists in ACB, Toai said.

Regarding the fact that Kien is the elected Chairman-cum-CEO of the Board of Asia Financial Group, Kien said the group is unrelated to ACB.

ACB general director Ly Xuan Hai has been summoned to the police agency to work with investigation authorities on the case, Toai said.

A leader of the Vietnam Export-Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank) told Tuoi Tre that Kien was holding 2-3 percent Eximbank shares, all of which are owned under the names of Kien’s family members.

ACB owns 8-9 percent of Eximbank shares under the legal representative of Pham Trung Cang, a member of ACB’s board of directors. Kien is not holding any important position in ACB, he said.

Meanwhile, a representative of VietBank told Tuoi Tre that the number of VietBank shares Kien is holding is not high enough to make Kien a major shareholder. Kien has no official title in VietBank.