Henan: China to repay customers after mass bank protests

• A total of 39 billion yuan in deposits are thought to have been frozen by rural banks.
• Payments will start to be made in phases on Friday, regional regulators announced.
• Some Chinese social media users have criticised the announcement.

Authorities in the Henan province of China have announced that they will begin releasing money to consumers whose funds have been frozen by a number of rural banks.

The declaration was made the day after a rare demonstration in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan, descended into violence.

According to regional regulators, payments will start to be made in phases on Friday.

A total of 39 billion yuan ($5.8 billion; £4.9 billion) in deposits are thought to have been frozen by the four banks that were the focus of the protests.

The Henan Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau and the Henan Provincial Local Financial Supervision Bureau laid out the strategies for paying clients through a neighbourhood association under the supervision of the People’s Bank of China in a statement on Monday.

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Customers having combined deposits of less than 50,000 yuan in a single institution will be eligible for advance payments, it stated.

“The advance payment will be paid consecutively, and the advance payment arrangement will be disclosed individually,” states the policy, “if the total amount of a single institution exceeds 50,000 yuan.”

Customers were encouraged to contact the association starting at 9:00 local time (02:00 BST) on Friday, according to the authorities.

However, some Chinese social media users have criticised the announcement.

On Weibo, one user wrote: “The shamless Henan administration astounds me. That will save us. Why do we require an advance from you? We demand the ability to freely save and access our funds!”

“No specific information [about how they intend to share our funds] is provided in the announcement. Simply put, they refuse to refund our money “one more said.

A demonstration against the frozen deposits that was attended by hundreds of people on Sunday in Zhengzhou, the city of Henan, got violent following an altercation with an unidentified group of men.

The protesters claimed that the banks had frozen their deposits in April due to alleged internal system updates but had not contacted them since.

According to local media accounts, police were present at the rally and had asked the demonstrators to disperse.

Videos posted on social media showed a group of unidentified individuals pushing demonstrators and hurling water bottles at them while they were thought to be security officers but were clothed in plain clothing.

One protester, who had travelled to Henan for the march, reported the demonstrators’ attacks to BBC Chinese.

“A bunch of individuals rushed in our direction without wearing police clothes. They struck us hard, particularly the guys, “The demonstrator, who only wished to be known as Ms. Wang, added.

Without mentioning the protests, local police stated in a separate statement on Sunday that they had detained “a number of people” connected to the case and were making progress with their inquiries into the banks.

The accused, according to the authorities, are suspected of controlling several banks in the province via a parent business.

The deposits of their clients were frozen in April by the New Oriental Country Bank of Kaifeng, Zhecheng Huanghuai Community Bank, Shangcai Huimin County Bank, and Yuzhou Xin Min Sheng Village Bank.

Since then, tens of thousands of clients have travelled to Zhengzhou to make money withdrawal attempts.

A series of small demonstrations began, building to a sizable rally on May 23 that saw hundreds take to the streets before police put an end to it.

The Covid-19 tracing software, which is required in many Chinese towns for residents to access buildings and stores, utilise public transportation, or leave the city, has caused problems for some bank customers who have visited Zhengzhou, it was later revealed.

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