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| Customers crowd to receive numbered tickets to withdraw their deposits yesterday at the Tomato II Savings Bank branch in Daegu after financial regulators suspended seven savings banks on the previous day. By Gong Jeong-sik |
“I deposited all my savings here four days ago,” a woman in her 60s said ruefully, in a crowd of other plainly dressed middle-aged and elderly customers. The woman had saved around 20 million won ($17,980) from selling vegetables at a market.
“You would never have known this would happen then,” she said with awe. “The place was packed. So many people wanted to put their money here because the interest rates were so high.”
A day after the government suspended, or closed, seven financially fragile savings banks - bringing the number of banks suspended this year to 16 - customers worried about how much of their savings they would get back, customers of other banks withdrew money just to be on the safe side and the government tried to calm savers nationwide.
And although the jitters were palpable, full-scale bank runs did not materialize. What did become clear, however, was that Korean savers over the past few months continued to be lured into putting their money into banks offering high interest rates, not learning the lesson of customers who got hoodwinked by the same tactic used by the banks suspended earlier this year, such as the Busan Savings Bank.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service, more than 30,000 people with deposits larger than 50 million won or subordinated bond investments are unlikely to get all of their money back from the banks suspended on Sunday. (Deposits under 50 million won are insured by the government.) The closures are going to hit one sector of society hardest: the not-so-well-off elderly. Nearly half the depositors at savings banks are over 60 years of age and most are in the lower income brackets.
Increased withdrawals
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As of 4 p.m. yesterday, some 41.6 billion won had been withdrawn from Tomato II out of 1.5 trillion won in total deposits, according to the FSS and the Korea Federation of Savings Banks. Branches saw increased foot traffic, with some 140 customers taking numbered tickets to withdraw money or ask questions an hour after the doors opened at the Myeong-dong, central Seoul, branch of Tomato II.
Government officials attempted to discourage further withdrawals from Tomato II, and denied that yesterday’s traffic constituted a bank run.
“Tomato and Tomato II savings banks are separate corporate bodies, and the latter has been proven to be fine after a seven-week review by the FSS,” said Kim Joo-hyun, secretary-general at the Financial Services Commission.
Three top government officials, including FSC Chairman Kim Seok-dong, visited Tomato II Savings Bank branches to deposit 20 million won each yesterday morning.
Withdrawals at other savings banks also were above normal yesterday, according to the FSS.
“There was a small increase of withdrawals at other savings banks, but there was no great impact and the sector was mostly quiet,” said Joo Jae-seong, senior deputy governor of the FSS.
Incomplete lessons
At the suspended banks, customers savvy enough to have prepared for a possible suspension mixed with customers who were blindsided, despite the well-publicized suspensions of the other banks this year and the anguish of their customers.
Baek Ki-nam, a small business owner in his 60s whose family had deposits totalling 80 million won in Jeil Savings Bank, said that he had split the money into different accounts to keep each balance under the government-guaranteed 50 million won.
“We had four accounts - in my name, in my wife’s name, two in our daughters’ names - and put 20 million won in each,” he said.
However, not all customers were so prepared. Across the seven suspended banks, some 25,535 people had 143.3 billion won in deposits greater than 50 million won, while 7,501 people had invested a total of 208.2 billion won in subordinated debts. These deposits and investments fall outside of the government’s guarantee.
And they’re not likely to get much back.
“In past cases, customers of suspended savings banks with deposits exceeding 50 million won got back between 10 to 30 percent of the exceeding amount when the bank’s assets were liquidated following bankruptcy procedures,” said a Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. official.
Despite the high-profile debacle surrounding the Busan Savings Bank, many customers gathered yesterday said they were lured by sky-high deposit interest rates.
Baek, the small business owner, said he deposited his money when Jeil Savings Bank offered a 6.2 percent annual interest rate, which it did to recover from massive withdrawals after bank officials were indicted for illegal lending in early May.
In fact, most of the savings banks were offering interest rates in the upper 5 percent range or higher just before their suspensions.
Societal minefield
In Korea’s financial industry, savings banks occupy a miniscule corner: they account for just 2.7 percent of the banking industry in terms of assets, according to FSC Chairman Kim Seok-dong’s comments in July.
But their customers are unusually vulnerable.
According to the KDIC and Korea Federation of Savings Banks, out of 174,000 customers that deposited more than 50 million won in 98 savings banks as of the end of July, 64.6 percent were over 50 years of age.
And according to data released by Grand National Party lawmaker Hyun Ki-Hwan early this month, some 71.7 percent of 471 Busan Savings Bank group customers surveyed had less than 1.5 million won in monthly income.
By Lee Jung-yoon [joyce@joongang.co.kr]
한글 관련 기사 [중앙일보]
토마토2 어제 450억 인출 … 뱅크런까진 안 갔다
영업정지 안된 저축은행 불똥
“하나도 안 들린다. 나와서 설명해라.” “여기 사람 깔려 죽겠다.”
19일 오전 성남시 신흥3동주민센터에서 진행된 예금보험공사 설명회는 시작부터 아수라장이었다. 200석 남짓인 강당에 전날 영업정지된 토마토저축은행 예금자 700여 명이 한꺼번에 몰렸기 때문이다. 안에 들어가지 못한 예금자들에게서 고성과 욕설이 터져 나왔다. 곳곳에서 몸싸움도 벌어졌다.
18일 영업정지된 7개 저축은행(토마토·프라임·대영·제일·제일2·에이스·파랑새저축은행) 본점과 지점엔 이날 놀란 예금자들이 몰려들었다. 이들은 갑작스러운 영업정지 소식에 화를 내고, 찾아온 고객들을 나 몰라라 하는 저축은행에 또다시 분통을 터뜨렸다. 올봄 7개 저축은행 영업정지 때와 변한 게 거의 없었다.
이날 성남시 신흥동 토마토저축은행 본사는 셔터 문이 굳게 내려져 있었다. 새벽부터 몰려든 고객 수십 명이 그 앞 찬 바닥에 주저앉았다. 하지만 가지급금 번호표는 22일부터 나눠준다는 얘기에 결국 몇 시간 만에 발길을 돌렸다. 아침 일찍 본점으로 찾아온 주부 김모(54·여)씨는 “5.7% 우대금리를 특별히 제공한다는 말에 일주일 전 예금을 넣었다”며 가슴을 쳤다. 9800만원을 예금했다는 노시영(70)씨는 “지난주 중도해지 하려고 했더니 여직원이 업계 2위라며 말렸다”며 직원과 정부를 원망했다.
예금자보호를 받지 못하는 후순위채 투자자들은 더 격앙됐다. 후순위채에 7400만원을 투자한 안치웅(71)씨는 “BIS(국제결제은행) 비율 8.6%라는 안내문까지 보내더니 이게 뭐냐”며 “청와대, 금융감독원으로 가자”고 말했다.
예금자들이 몰려든 건 영업정지된 7개 저축은행만이 아니었다. 토마토2저축은행 본점과 지점 역시 이른 아침부터 북새통이었다. 모회사가 영업정지됐다는 소식에 불안해진 토마토2저축은행 고객들이 돈을 빼러 온 것이다. 이날 부산시 부전동 토마토2저축은행 본점은 영업을 시작하기도 전에 돈을 찾을 수 있는 번호표 300장이 동났다.
사태가 심상치 않자 김석동 금융위원장이 이날 토마토2저축은행 명동지점을 찾아 만기 13개월짜리 정기예금에 2000만원을 맡겼다. 권혁세 금감원장은 선릉지점에서, 이승우 예금보험공사 사장은 부산 본점에서 2000만원짜리 정기예금을 가입했다. 금융당국의 설득에 일부 고객은 상황을 지켜보기로 했다.
이날 오후 3시 현재 토마토2저축은행 본점은 26일, 명동지점은 28일에야 돈을 찾을 수 있는 번호표가 발행됐다. 이 저축은행에서는 이날 평소(20억원)보다 훨씬 많은 450억원의 예금이 빠져나갔다.
금감원 고위 관계자는 ＂전체 수신액(1조5130억원)의 3% 정도인 만큼 ‘뱅크런(대규모 예금 인출)’을 걱정할 정도는 아니다”고 말했다.
한편 이날 솔로몬저축은행은 지난해 매출액이 5913억원, 당기순손실 1266억원을 기록했다고 공시했다. 6월 말 현재 BIS 비율은 9.2%이다.