| Reuters
Withdrawals began on Tuesday when the arrest was made public. By Thursday, crowds had formed at ACB's branches in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's business center, residents said. At one branch, depositors shoved tables aside to try to reach bank tellers, a witness said.
The central bank said the entire banking sector "will commit to standing ready to provide, funding support to ACB to ensure it meets its obligations for repaying deposits".
It pumped 13 trillion dong ($624 million) into the banking system on Wednesday and another 4 trillion on Thursday.
Outside ACB's headquarters, two dozen cars lined up and about 70 depositors crowded the transaction office, a witness said, as confidence dwindled in the financial system of what a few years ago was one of world's hottest emerging markets.
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Economists were already worried about the fragility of Vietnam's banking system and some Vietnamese have quickly turned to the traditional safe haven of gold: bankers said demand had jumped from Monday, pushing up the retail price by about 5 percent.
The dong has fallen 0.3 percent since Monday against the dollar.
The main stock market has slid for three consecutive days, trading at a six-month low on Thursday when it lost 4.5 percent. On Tuesday, it posted its biggest daily loss since October 2008. ACB's stock price has slumped 18.6 percent this week, losing 6.7 percent on Thursday. The bank is valued at about $1 billion.
But some experts doubted the panic would spread.
"I wouldn't think we are going to see a lot of contagion," said Jonathan Pincus, dean of the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program in Ho Chi Minh City and a former Vietnam economic specialist at the United Nations.
"The State Bank acted quickly and provided liquidity immediately," he added.
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