HK banks group urges end of violence

（Photo/Xinhua）

HONG KONG, Aug. 9 -- The Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) on Friday called for stopping all violent acts and resolving differences through dialogues and it also expressed hope that the Hong Kong community will return to calm and peace soon.

Continued violations of the rule of law will affect Hong Kong's hard-earned position as an international financial center, the HKAB said in a statement.

The HKAB said it respects the expression of opinions and demands in a peaceful and rational manner, but violent conflict emerged and caused disruptions to transportations and damage to public facilities that seriously affected a wide spectrum of general public and social order after some demonstrations in recent months.

For the safety of customers and bank employees, operations of some bank branches had been temporarily suspended, according to the statement.

Founded in 1981, the HKAB has many members such as Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC Bank, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, Hang Seng Bank and Citibank, according to its website.