First bank run in Hong Kong in more than a decade

From Bloomberg:

Hong Kong’s government, regulators and richest man came to the aid of Bank Of East Asia Ltd. after "malicious rumours” about its financial stability spurred the city’s first bank run in more than a decade.

Financial Secretary John Tsang said the rumours were "unfounded” and the bank has enough capital to serve its clients. Joseph Yam, head of Hong Kong’s central bank, urged depositors to stay calm and pumped $500 million into the banking system. Li Ka-shing, chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd., bought the stock.

I believe that banks in Hong Kong has minimal exposure to what is happening in US. The rumours should be quite unfounded. The quick response to calm depositors down is well appreciated, as a bank run can turn a bank with no problem to a bank running out of money.

For more news and analysis, visit Also sprach Analyst. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Get our daily email update FOR FREE!

About Zarathustra

Zarathustra: Founder and Managing Editor of Also sprach Analyst. Once an analyst, now an investor and entrepreneur. Based in Hong Kong, but Londoner at heart.