In the context of economic difficulties, business losses, or disrupted revenue streams, many individuals and businesses with bank loans or credit card debts due have turned to external debt refinancing services, including high-interest loans from "black market" lenders, to repay their bank debts. Consequently, bank debt refinancing services and loans for handling bad debts and consumer credit card debt have flourished.
Busy with services, but high fees.
Users simply need to type the keyword "Credit Card Repayment" on Google or social media to find dozens of websites and groups offering this service, with hundreds of thousands of members. On these groups, dozens of advertisements for the service appear daily, such as the group "Cash Withdrawal - Credit Card Repayment" with 82,000 members, and "Mortgage Loans - Pawning - Repayment - Real Estate…" with 20,000 members…
Posing as someone needing to refinance a bank loan, we accessed a group and posted, "I need money to refinance a loan at Bank A" in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi , and other provinces and cities… Immediately afterwards, many accounts commented and sent private messages, asking for phone numbers to inform us of the fees. In a conversation with us, Mr. Tan – a provider of this service – said that for every 1 billion VND borrowed to refinance a loan, the customer would have to pay 28 million VND for 7 days or 40 million VND for 10 days.
"Even if the customer repays the amount within 2-3 days of borrowing, they still have to pay the full 28 million VND for 7 days because the interest is fixed for each loan. Similarly, if they want to borrow 2-3 billion VND, the borrower will automatically multiply the cost by 2 or 3 times; if they find it acceptable, they can borrow. But before borrowing, they need to provide documents showing which bank they borrowed from, which branch, and what assets they have so that we can assess them," Mr. Tan said.
Loan services, credit card cash withdrawals, and card renewals are booming at banks. (Screenshot)
Mr. Hoang Phat (residing in Ho Chi Minh City), who also provides loan refinancing services at banks, said that for every 1 billion VND borrowed, customers have to pay a refinancing fee of 12 million VND for 5 days. If the customer refinances for more than 5 days, the fee is 2.3 million VND per day.
"In Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, I can provide loans for refinancing. Customers can borrow 4-5 billion VND, but they have to pay 4-5 times the fee. We don't reduce fees even for large loans. However, customers must prove their assets and provide information on mortgage contracts at banks for us to consider," Mr. Phat asserted.
Consider carefully to avoid risks.
Speaking with reporters from the Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper, leaders of several banks acknowledged that the need for external loans to repay bank loans by individual and corporate customers is real. The director of the corporate customer division of a joint-stock bank in Ho Chi Minh City explained that due to the difficult economic situation, many corporate loans have matured but remain unpaid. Failure to repay on time could lead to customers being reclassified into a higher debt category or becoming bad debtors, resulting in a lower credit score for future loans.
"In this case, individual customers or businesses often choose to borrow from relatives, friends, or seek out loan refinancing services to repay their bank loans on time. After settling the old loan, the customer will be able to borrow again and use this money to pay off the external loan, only incurring fees/interest for a few days. The risk here is that if the customer is not granted further loans by the bank, they will be burdened with debt from 'black market' credit with very high interest rates," said the director of this corporate customer division.
According to banks, borrowing from external sources to repay bank loans is very risky for customers, especially corporate clients. With interest rates of 3%-5% per month, it is very difficult for businesses to operate efficiently and profitably, not to mention other risks.
Because the profits from loan refinancing are so attractive, in many cases, bank employees also participate in lending to customers outside the bank to refinance their loans, profiting from fees. The leader of a commercial bank pointed out several situations related to bank loan refinancing services. Initially, bank employees assist customers in borrowing money from outside sources to repay their loans on time; later, bank employees may also participate in loan refinancing services to make a profit, even though they know that this violates bank regulations and professional ethics.
"My bank has also discovered and dealt with several cases where officers and employees participated in lending money to customers to repay overdue loans. Although this is a civil transaction between bank employees and customers outside the bank and outside working hours, if discovered, it will be severely punished," a deputy general director of a bank affirmed to the reporter.
Dr. Chau Dinh Linh, from the University of Banking in Ho Chi Minh City, analyzed the case where a customer borrows from external sources to refinance a loan and then receives further disbursement from the bank. He stated that this is not a problem, mainly involving fees and interest for a few days. However, whether or not the bank continues to disburse funds for the customer's old loan depends on the business plan and the feasibility of the project in the next phase. If the bank does not continue to disburse funds, the customer will face the risk of high interest rates from external sources, even "black market" credit rates.
For credit officers and bank employees participating in loan refinancing services, this constitutes a violation of professional ethics, standards, and internal regulations of the bank, especially damaging the bank's reputation.
Carefully calculate your debt repayment cash flow.
According to Article 8 of Circular 06/2023/TT-NHNN on lending activities of credit institutions, banks are not allowed to lend for capital needs to repay loans at their own bank, except in cases where loans are used to pay interest on loans incurred during the construction of a project, and the interest expense is included in the total construction investment approved by the competent authority in accordance with the law.
To avoid risks from bank loan maturity, Dr. Chau Dinh Linh suggests that individual and business customers need to carefully plan their business strategies and cash flow for debt repayment. Banks also need to monitor customers' business activities to ensure timely debt collection.
"Banks need to avoid unauthorized activities. There are serious legal consequences if credit officers raise capital from outside sources for refinancing services, or even commit fraud to misappropriate customer funds. Internal control needs to be strengthened to provide early warnings of emerging risks – operational risks stemming from employees," said Dr. Linh.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/can-trong-voi-dich-vu-dao-han-ngan-hang-196240716203313341.htm
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