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Hong Kong banks shut branches, take hundreds of ATMs offline after spate of violence

October 9, 2019

Over the weekend, anti-government protesters in Hong Kong vandalized several bank branches after the government banned face masks in public. 

As a result of the attacks, five banks, including two of mainland China's largest state-owned lenders, shut their branches and ATMs in Hong Kong.

After being hardest hit by rioters who wrecked and set fire to ATMs, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd. kept five branches shut Tuesday after it closed nearly all of its 200 branches on Saturday, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. closed four, according to a report in the China Morning Post. Both banks have mainland state-owned banks as parents.

#Hongkong protesters vandalized one Bank of China branch service hall. pic.twitter.com/1WQiMeg7QE

— Liam Stone石立安 (@liamstone_19) October 4, 2019

In total, on Tuesday, five banks kept 13 branches shut and took 330 ATMs offline across several districts in the city, which amounted to about one in 10 ATMs in Asia's largest financial hub, according to the report.   

Cash was in short supply over the weekend, as long lines formed at ATMs, and locals reported some machines running out of cash. 

Protests in Hong Kong began in early June as an opposition to an extradition bill. Four months down the line, civil unrest has taken an increasingly violent turn as protesters are now targeting businesses owned by mainland investors. Tourists are staying away from the city, hurting shops and causing property prices to plummet.