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Pastimes : 5spl -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sun-tzu who wrote (792)	4/23/2003 3:14:40 PM
From: LPS5	Respond to of 2534

Crap. I should have gone up there.

To: sun-tzu who wrote (792)	4/23/2003 9:03:51 PM
From: LPS5	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2534

It's not over yet. This is a behavioral finance researcher's dream, by the way. Hundreds rush bank in Philadelphia's Chinatown By DAVID B. CARUSO The Associated Press April 23, 2003 1:36 PM PHILADELPHIA - Driven by rumors, hundreds of ethnic Chinese customers rushed a Chinatown bank Wednesday to withdraw their money, one day after a similar bank rush in New York City. The runs came after notices were posted at a New York branch of the Abacus Federal Savings Bank announcing that its former manager was being investigated for involvement in "account irregularity." Managers at Abacus' Philadelphia branch insisted that the bank is solvent and pleaded with customers to go home, but were met with either angry shouts or stony silence from patrons who refused to budge from a block-long line. Few in the crowd, waiting to withdraw their savings or empty their safe-deposit boxes, spoke English. Several said they had come after hearing from a friend or relative in New York that there were problems at the bank. Almost none understood that bank deposits are insured by the government. "Everyone's nervous," said Kyon Kong, of Philadelphia. "There are rumors. People want their money." Branch manager Joe Wong said the run started late Tuesday. By noon on Wednesday, patrons had withdrawn at least $700,000, he said, temporarily emptying the branch's vaults. The bank remained open Wednesday, but the line was frozen while tellers waited for a truck to deliver more currency. Wong said all patrons would eventually be able to withdraw their money. "There is no problem. We are a solvent bank," he said. He added that he was confident customers would return in a few days, once the rumors subside. Notices posted outside the New York bank Tuesday said a manager there had been accused of omitting withdrawals made by account holders, wrongfully crediting and charging accounts and creating fake certificates of deposit and savings accounts. The questionable transactions involved around 40 of the bank's 20,000 accounts, bank officials said. Volunteer translators tried to explain to the crowd in Philadelphia that their deposits were safe, but were mostly ignored. Ngin Chin, of the Lee Family Association, a Chinatown civic group, said most of the bank's patrons spoke Mandarin, while he spoke Cantonese. "They don't understand what is going on. They heard rumors. They came. They don't even know why," he said. phillyburbs.com