HK bank spurs US$500M

HK bank run hits Singapore, spurs US$500M infusion

HONG KONG (AP): Hundreds of nervous customers swarmed Bank of East Asia offices in Singapore and Hong Kong Thursday, the second day of Asia's first major bank run since the global financial crisis erupted last year.

Hong Kong's de facto central bank, meanwhile, responded by injecting US$500 million into the market as a way of shoring up the territory's banking system.

The Bank of East Asia received another boost when billionaire tycoon Li Ka-shing started buying the company's stock after it plunged Wednesday _ a huge vote of confidence from the territory's richest man. Shares rebounded Thursday.

The moves came after thousands of customers descended on BEA offices across Hong Kong on Wednesday to demand their deposits amid unconfirmed rumors questioning the mid-sized lender's stability.

The bank and authorities were quick to shoot down the rumors _ spread by what officials say were hundreds of thousands of cell phone text messages in recent days _ as ``malicious'' and baseless.

But many customers were less than assured. While crowds appeared to taper off in Hong Kong Thursday, hundreds thronged the company's headquarters in Singapore's financial district to inquire about the status of the bank or to withdraw their savings.

``I read about the bank's problems in Hong Kong, so I came down here today to pull out some of my money,'' said Kim Hoon Toh, 70, as he waited in the bank's lobby for his number to be called. ``Better safe than sorry.''

The panic underscored a growing distrust of financial institutions in Asia since the turmoil on Wall Street began more than a year ago.

Confidence has eroded further in recent weeks as thousands in Hong Kong and Singapore canceled policies with troubled insurer American International Group, and investors in Lehman Brothers products lobbied the government to help prevent losses.

Bank of East Asia CEO David Li flew back to Hong Kong from New York overnight to deal with the crisis. Li joined government officials in pronouncing the bank's finances healthy.

``We are financially sound,'' Li told The Associated Press. ``There were a lot of vicious rumors.'' Police were investigating the matter, he said.

The bank, Hong Kong's fifth-biggest by assets, has declined to specify how much customers have withdrawn, but said the amount wasn't large and no major clients had pulled money.

It offered assurances that its capital ratio was well above international standards. Seeking to calm investors, the bank also disclosed that its combined ``exposure'' to failed U.S. financial companies Lehman Brothers and American International Group was about HK$473 million (almost US$61 million).

The company's stock recovered more than 3 percent to HK$26.85 after tumbling more than 7 percent in the previous session.

With credit tightening following the run, the territory's central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, flushed HK$3.883 billion (about US$500 million) into the financial system.

Chief Executive Joseph Yam said the agency acted after seeing an uptick in lending rates among banks.

``Because there was a bank run yesterday, the Hong Kong interbank (offered rate) was a bit tense this morning,'' Yam said, adding that the infusion would ensure that banks have enough ``money supply to handle various kinds of problems they have.''

The rumors emerged after Moody's Investors Service changed its outlook on BEA's credit rating from stable to negative on Friday, citing a recent insider trading case that exposed ``lackluster internal controls'' at the bank.

Last week, the bank revealed a trading loss of HK$93 million (nearly US$12 million) it says was incurred by a rogue equity derivatives trader who ``manipulated'' valuations to hide losses. The discovery forced the bank to revise down its earnings for the first half of the year.