Bank Run in Rural China Tests Faith in Thousands of Lenders
- Yichuan Rural Bank’s depositors rushed to withdraw their money
- Official intervention underscores China’s tough balancing act
Photographer: Luo Jinglai/Qianlong.com/Visual China Group via Getty Images
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It started with an unverified rumor from an obscure social media account: Yichuan Rural Commercial Bank was insolvent.
Within hours of the post on Tuesday, more than 1,000 worried customers had lined up to withdraw their money. By Wednesday, a run on the bank had prompted local authorities to arrange more than 30 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) of liquidity injections. As branch staff sought to restore confidence, they displayed stacks of cash to convince depositors that there was enough to go around.