The Hong Kong Monetary Authority assured the public yesterday that the interbank market worked normally in general even while over 30 bank branches were shut due to pro-democracy clashes.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the de-facto central bank for the jurisdiction, assured the public yesterday that the interbank market worked normally in general even while over 30 bank branches were shut due to pro-democracy clashes.

Banks such as Standard Chartered, HSBC, Bank of East Asia, China CITIC and others have temporarily closed branches because of disturbances in part of the city-state. Markets are shut in Hong Kong and the Mainland today due to public holidays. (To see a previous story on the issue, click here.)

“As at 4pm today [Tuesday], the Hong Kong dollar, RMB, US dollar and Euro Real Time Gross Settlement systems recorded a total transaction volume equivalent to HK$1.7 trillion, which is about normal. As at 4pm today, a total of 33 branches of 19 banks were temporarily closed,” the HKMA said in a statement on its website.

“The banking sector has ample liquidity and has not experienced any tightness,” the regulator said.

“The HKMA will closely monitor developments in the Hong Kong Dollar FX market to maintain the normal operation of the Currency Board system and the stability of the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate. We will also maintain close contact with banks and make arrangements as appropriate to ensure that the banking system will function normally after the public holiday,” it added.