Henan Banks China Arrests Hundreds Over Rural Bank Scandal

Police in Suchang City, Henan said in a statement on Monday that “significant progress” has been made in recovering the losses and the investigation into the case is progressing. He said a criminal gang led by alleged mastermind Lv Yi took control of four rural banks, including Yuzhou Xinminsheng Village Bank, luring depositors with promises of annual returns of up to 18 percent. Anxious depositors have staged several protests in the city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, over the past two months to demand their savings back, but their calls have fallen on deaf ears. In July, more than 1,000 depositors from across China gathered outside the Zhengzhou branch of the country’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, to launch their largest protest to date. The peaceful demonstration was violently suppressed by the authorities, with police and security personnel violently dispersing the protesters. After the protest, Henan’s financial regulator said depositors would be refunded, with the first payments sent to bank customers with a total of less than 50,000 yuan ($7,200) deposited in a single bank. On Monday, financial authorities said they would begin another round of repayments to customers, this time focusing on those with deposits between 400,000 yuan ($57,800) and 500,000 yuan ($72,200). Depositors who have lost more will receive an initial sum of 500,000 yuan with the balance being frozen for now, according to regulators. “After this round of payments, the central repayment project will be largely completed and further issues will be taken up with the four rural banks,” the statement said. Runs on small Chinese banks have become more common in recent years, and some have been accused of financial wrongdoing or corruption. But experts worry that a much bigger financial problem could be looming, caused by the fallout from a real estate crash and rising bad debt related to the Covid-19 pandemic. About a quarter of the total assets of China’s banking system are held by about 4,000 small lenders, which often have opaque ownership and governance structures and are more vulnerable to corruption and a sharp economic slowdown.

title: “Henan Banks China Arrests Hundreds Over Rural Bank Scandal Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-14” author: “Felicia Swartz”

Police in Suchang City, Henan said in a statement on Monday that “significant progress” has been made in recovering the losses and the investigation into the case is progressing. He said a criminal gang led by alleged mastermind Lv Yi took control of four rural banks, including Yuzhou Xinminsheng Village Bank, luring depositors with promises of annual returns of up to 18 percent. Anxious depositors have staged several protests in the city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, over the past two months to demand their savings back, but their calls have fallen on deaf ears. In July, more than 1,000 depositors from across China gathered outside the Zhengzhou branch of the country’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, to launch their largest protest to date. The peaceful demonstration was violently suppressed by the authorities, with police and security personnel violently dispersing the protesters. After the protest, Henan’s financial regulator said depositors would be refunded, with the first payments sent to bank customers with a total of less than 50,000 yuan ($7,200) deposited in a single bank. On Monday, financial authorities said they would begin another round of repayments to customers, this time focusing on those with deposits between 400,000 yuan ($57,800) and 500,000 yuan ($72,200). Depositors who have lost more will receive an initial sum of 500,000 yuan with the balance being frozen for now, according to regulators. “After this round of payments, the central repayment project will be largely completed and further issues will be taken up with the four rural banks,” the statement said. Runs on small Chinese banks have become more common in recent years, and some have been accused of financial wrongdoing or corruption. But experts worry that a much bigger financial problem could be looming, caused by the fallout from a real estate crash and rising bad debt related to the Covid-19 pandemic. About a quarter of the total assets of China’s banking system are held by about 4,000 small lenders, which often have opaque ownership and governance structures and are more vulnerable to corruption and a sharp economic slowdown.

title: “Henan Banks China Arrests Hundreds Over Rural Bank Scandal Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-19” author: “John Iddings”

Police in Suchang City, Henan said in a statement on Monday that “significant progress” has been made in recovering the losses and the investigation into the case is progressing. He said a criminal gang led by alleged mastermind Lv Yi took control of four rural banks, including Yuzhou Xinminsheng Village Bank, luring depositors with promises of annual returns of up to 18 percent. Anxious depositors have staged several protests in the city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, over the past two months to demand their savings back, but their calls have fallen on deaf ears. In July, more than 1,000 depositors from across China gathered outside the Zhengzhou branch of the country’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, to launch their largest protest to date. The peaceful demonstration was violently suppressed by the authorities, with police and security personnel violently dispersing the protesters. After the protest, Henan’s financial regulator said depositors would be refunded, with the first payments sent to bank customers with a total of less than 50,000 yuan ($7,200) deposited in a single bank. On Monday, financial authorities said they would begin another round of repayments to customers, this time focusing on those with deposits between 400,000 yuan ($57,800) and 500,000 yuan ($72,200). Depositors who have lost more will receive an initial sum of 500,000 yuan with the balance being frozen for now, according to regulators. “After this round of payments, the central repayment project will be largely completed and further issues will be taken up with the four rural banks,” the statement said. Runs on small Chinese banks have become more common in recent years, and some have been accused of financial wrongdoing or corruption. But experts worry that a much bigger financial problem could be looming, caused by the fallout from a real estate crash and rising bad debt related to the Covid-19 pandemic. About a quarter of the total assets of China’s banking system are held by about 4,000 small lenders, which often have opaque ownership and governance structures and are more vulnerable to corruption and a sharp economic slowdown.

title: “Henan Banks China Arrests Hundreds Over Rural Bank Scandal Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “Rose Leef”

Police in Suchang City, Henan said in a statement on Monday that “significant progress” has been made in recovering the losses and the investigation into the case is progressing. He said a criminal gang led by alleged mastermind Lv Yi took control of four rural banks, including Yuzhou Xinminsheng Village Bank, luring depositors with promises of annual returns of up to 18 percent. Anxious depositors have staged several protests in the city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, over the past two months to demand their savings back, but their calls have fallen on deaf ears. In July, more than 1,000 depositors from across China gathered outside the Zhengzhou branch of the country’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, to launch their largest protest to date. The peaceful demonstration was violently suppressed by the authorities, with police and security personnel violently dispersing the protesters. After the protest, Henan’s financial regulator said depositors would be refunded, with the first payments sent to bank customers with a total of less than 50,000 yuan ($7,200) deposited in a single bank. On Monday, financial authorities said they would begin another round of repayments to customers, this time focusing on those with deposits between 400,000 yuan ($57,800) and 500,000 yuan ($72,200). Depositors who have lost more will receive an initial sum of 500,000 yuan with the balance being frozen for now, according to regulators. “After this round of payments, the central repayment project will be largely completed and further issues will be taken up with the four rural banks,” the statement said. Runs on small Chinese banks have become more common in recent years, and some have been accused of financial wrongdoing or corruption. But experts worry that a much bigger financial problem could be looming, caused by the fallout from a real estate crash and rising bad debt related to the Covid-19 pandemic. About a quarter of the total assets of China’s banking system are held by about 4,000 small lenders, which often have opaque ownership and governance structures and are more vulnerable to corruption and a sharp economic slowdown.

title: “Henan Banks China Arrests Hundreds Over Rural Bank Scandal Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-16” author: “Virginia Shary”

Police in Suchang City, Henan said in a statement on Monday that “significant progress” has been made in recovering the losses and the investigation into the case is progressing. He said a criminal gang led by alleged mastermind Lv Yi took control of four rural banks, including Yuzhou Xinminsheng Village Bank, luring depositors with promises of annual returns of up to 18 percent. Anxious depositors have staged several protests in the city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, over the past two months to demand their savings back, but their calls have fallen on deaf ears. In July, more than 1,000 depositors from across China gathered outside the Zhengzhou branch of the country’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, to launch their largest protest to date. The peaceful demonstration was violently suppressed by the authorities, with police and security personnel violently dispersing the protesters. After the protest, Henan’s financial regulator said depositors would be refunded, with the first payments sent to bank customers with a total of less than 50,000 yuan ($7,200) deposited in a single bank. On Monday, financial authorities said they would begin another round of repayments to customers, this time focusing on those with deposits between 400,000 yuan ($57,800) and 500,000 yuan ($72,200). Depositors who have lost more will receive an initial sum of 500,000 yuan with the balance being frozen for now, according to regulators. “After this round of payments, the central repayment project will be largely completed and further issues will be taken up with the four rural banks,” the statement said. Runs on small Chinese banks have become more common in recent years, and some have been accused of financial wrongdoing or corruption. But experts worry that a much bigger financial problem could be looming, caused by the fallout from a real estate crash and rising bad debt related to the Covid-19 pandemic. About a quarter of the total assets of China’s banking system are held by about 4,000 small lenders, which often have opaque ownership and governance structures and are more vulnerable to corruption and a sharp economic slowdown.