Reports of Depositor Accounts Being Frozen, as China’s Banking Crisis Spreads

A worker talks to people who want to withdraw cash at the entrance of a bank in the Jing'an district of Shanghai on June 1, 2022. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

Bank depositors in several Chinese provinces have reported their bank and credit accounts have been frozen, actions seen as being related to bank runs in Henan and a nationwide mortgage boycott. Experts say this all indicates that China’s economy is in a very precarious state.

Mainland Chinese media Securities Daily reported on July 18 that some depositors in southern Hainan Province said their debit bank savings cards had been frozen. They reportedly could only make deposits but were unable to withdraw cash. Their online transactions were also restricted.