Henan bank says customers should “wait patiently” for funds.
QUICK FACTS:
- Footage from the Shandong Province in China shows military tanks blocking account holders from accessing a bank that has denied them their money.
- The tanks were deployed to protect the banks after residents of Henan and Anhui provinces were denied access to the bank accounts, the bank citing a “system upgrade.”
- Multiple locations have been affected, experiencing rioting in nearby streets as residents demand access to their money.
- Yuzhou Xinminsheng Village Bank, Shangcai Huimin County Bank, Zhecheng Huanghuai Community Bank, and New Oriental Country Bank of Kaifeng in Henan province, and Guzhen Xinhuaihe Village Bank in the neighboring Anhui province have been affected.
- “CCP tanks on the street again this time protecting Banks (possibly Rizhao, Shandong Province). This is because the Henan branch of the Bank of China declaring that people’s savings in their branch are now ‘investment products’ and can’t be withdrawn,” said a Reddit user.
OFFICIAL RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM:
- In a comprehensive interview, an unnamed representative of China’s banking regulator discussed issues affecting the country’s financial sector.
- Disgruntled savers at five banks in the provinces of Henan and Anhui have been assured that they will receive their money, but the official gave no specific time frame.
- Questions about the hypocrisy of the situation have surfaced, with one Reddit user saying, “I wonder what would happen if the tank operators can’t withdraw their money as well.”
BACKGROUND:
- Issues with the banks began months ago after the State Council approved a special purpose debt quota of 103 billion yuan ($15.2 billion) to provide liquidity to small banks in Liaoning, Gansu, Henan, and Dalian, the CBIRC source told the South China Morning Post.
- Reddit users compare the scene to the Tiananmen Square incident when in 1989 hundreds of tanks were used to crush pro-democracy protests.
- “Tiananmen square 2: electric boogaloo,” commented one user. “Something… something… History repeats itself,” said another.
