Chinese regulators announced second round repayments to depositors in banking fraud

 

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Chinese regulators on Thursday announced a second round of repayments to depositors whose funds were frozen in a banking fraud.

Some deposits at four rural banks in central China’s Henan province and one in eastern Anhui province were frozen in what authorities said was a complex scam involving a private financial group. The scandal has triggered widespread protests from outraged depositors since April and cast a harsh spotlight on the 4,000 small and medium-sized banks sprinkled across the country.

On Thursday, financial authorities in Henan said they would commence the second round of repayments to clients on behalf of the four rural banks there from July 25. Earlier, Henan and Anhui provinces started making repayments to smaller depositors on July 15, following investigations by authorities and arrests of suspects.

Individuals with deposits of up to 100,000 yuan ($14,787) will be repaid, the Henan branch of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) and the provincial financial bureau said in a joint statement. Authorities in Anhui’s Bengbu city made a similar statement, saying it will start repaying clients at a bank there with deposits of 50,000-100,000 yuan.