(Yicai Global) March 22 -- Hong Kong banks appear to have benefited from recent incidents at Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse Group, with funds flowing back to the city from Western countries, National Business Daily reported today.

Concerns spread around the Western banking system after SVB went bankrupt and troubled Credit Suisse was bought by Swiss bank UBS in an emergency rescue deal. Though the banking system appears less vulnerable than in 2008, the events have spooked investors.

Recent rumors have said that over USD76 billion in funds owned by Chinese people have been withdrawn from the US and USD165 billion has been taken out of Switzerland, flowing mainly to Singapore and Hong Kong.

The opening of accounts in Hong Kong banks and funds flowing into the city have recovered to “the peak period,” a member of staff at a Chinese mainland bank was quoted as saying in the National Business Daily report.

The positive sentiment swelled amid news that local HSBC branches were set to open for seven days a week, the report said.

The number of visitors to Hong Kong has been rising since the city lifted Covid-19 related restrictions on entry early last month, and there has also been a rise in the number of people using HSBC services. The number of new non-Hong Kong resident clients of HSBC Hong Kong last month recovered to the monthly average seen in the first half of 2019, National Business Daily learned from the bank. Three of HSBC’s branches will experiment with operating for seven days a week to meet the surge in demand, the bank noted.

Insurance sales in Hong Kong have also risen recently, according to industry sources. An insurance agent at Prudential said the company has customers lining up to pay insurance expenses every day.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is expected to clarify shortly whether there has been a sharp rise in the amount of money flowing into banks in the region.

Editor: Tom Litting