Hong Kong Bank Runs
Hong Kong injected nearly $500 million £269 miillion into the financial system today to shore up liquidity a day after the Bank of East Asia was hit with what appears to be the region’s first big bank run since the global financial crisis erupted last year.
The embattled bank got a boost when Li Ka-shing, the territory’s richest man and a billionaire tycoon, bought the company’s shares after they plunged yesterday. “He did buy Bank of East Asia shares. It’s a personal investment.” a Li spokeswoman said.
Thousands of customers converged on Bank of East Asia offices across Hong Kong yesterday to demand their deposits amid unconfirmed rumours about the bank’s stability. About 200 people lined up at two branches alone. The fear then spread to Singapore, where the crowds had thinned today, although a few dozen depositors were seen at a few branches in the morning.
Bank of East Asia and the Hong Kong authorities were quick to shoot down the rumours, spread by mobile phone text messages in recent days, as “malicious and baseless.”
