Hong Kong Banks Urge Harmony in Full-Page Ads

Some of Hong Kong’s largest banks have published full-page newspaper advertisements on Thursday urging for the restoration of social order, one week after some protestors call for cash withdrawals at banks and ATMs.

HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of East Asia, have taken up advertisements in major newspapers in the Asian financial hub, urging for the restoration of social order. HSBC urged all parties to resolve their disagreement through communication rather than violence.

Standard Chartered said in Thursday’s advertisements the bank supported the special administrative region’s government to uphold social order and «guard the status of Hong Kong as an international financial center,» Bloomberg reported. However, HSBC and Bank of East Asia did not refer to the government in their advertisements.

Calls by Hong Kong protesters last week to withdraw all their money out of ATMs and banks may have put strains on some banks’ operations. On 16 August, Hong Kong protesters plan to withdraw as much money as possible from their banks or change their currency into U.S. dollars, both to protect their own assets and to show the mainland that the semiautonomous island is more than just a cash cow, various media reported.

Some netizens on online forum LIHKG have expressed frustration as some ATMs in the city had run out of the U.S. currency.

In response, Hong Kong’s biggest banks said they have enough notes on hand to handle any surge in demand for cash, should the need arise. Bank of East Asia, DBS, OCBC Wing Hang Bank, and Hang Seng Bank said they have put contingency plans in place, and are keeping their eyes on withdrawals via their teller machines.

HSBC, the largest of the city’s three currency-issuing banks, said it «has sufficient supply of banknotes and is committed to supporting its customers and the smooth operation of the financial system in Hong Kong, said a bank spokeswoman.