Depositors calm after HK bank run

HONG KONG: The run on Bank of East Asia (BEA) eased yesterday after reassurance from officials and a high-profile tycoon's stock purchase helped soothe panicked depositors.

Fewer people were seen lining up outside the bank's branches on the news that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) injected HK$3.88 billion to the inter-bank market and that Li Ka-shing, the city's richest person, had bought BEA shares.

Thousands swarmed to Hong Kong's fifth largest bank by assets to withdraw money on Wednesday after rumors spread, questioning the bank's financial situation amid its exposure to the ongoing US financial meltdown. That was the first bank run in Hong Kong since 1997.