100 Customers Of Bank Meet, Claim Refunds

Some 100 angry customers of the closed Rich Nation Bank convened at the offices of the also-shut­tered First Overseas Bank in Phnom Penh to claim money owed to them after the liquidation of the bank’s assets was termina­ted Thursday.

Depositors and creditors who have registered claims with the bank were to receive the cash equivalent of 6 percent of the balances owed to them.

Both banks, along with nine others, were forced to close in Dec 2000 by the National Bank of Cambodia. The banks were un­able to meet the $13 million minimum capital requirement that was part of a banking law passed by the National Assembly in 1999. The previous minimum capital requirement was $5 million.

“My company deposited in the Rich Nation Bank four years ago, but its bankruptcy has caused my com­pany to loose $10,000,” said Eng Rithy, who works for the Cam­­bodian Every Sky Group. “We have no choice to get the      6 percent of our outstanding balance in our account.”

Some of the depositors said they did not know about Rich Nation­al’s closure and were un­able to withdraw their money sooner.

“I deposited $3,000 and I just heard about [the closure]. How can I get my money?” asked Sor Sun­huot. “I have my passbook, but they will not allow me to withdraw my money.”

Many demonstrators placed the blame on the National Bank of Cambodia, for allowing “cowboy banks” to cheat them.

Analysts have suggested that the bank closures could be linked to high interest rates propagated by the National Bank of Cambo­dia.

In May, Tal Nai Im, director of the National Bank of Cambodia, said that the bank closures are the fault of the private banks, not the government or the National Bank.

On Tuesday, another bank, Cam­bodia Farmers Bank, reimbursed depositors who had a balance of up to $250. Depositors who had in excess of that amount re­ceived $250 plus an additional 2 per­cent of the remaining balance.

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