Rhode Island banking crisis

The Rhode Island banking crisis took place in the early 1990s, when approximately a third of the US state of Rhode Island's population lost access to funds in their bank accounts. The events were triggered by the failure of a Providence bank, Heritage Loan & Investment, due to long-term embezzlement by its president. News of its problems led to a bank run in which customers tried to withdraw money from the bank which did not have enough money available. In normal circumstances, depositors would be protected by the bank's insurance, but the state's private insurer had a long history of problems and was unable to fulfill its commitments. When the insurer collapsed, Governor Bruce Sundlun announced the closure of 45 credit unions and banks just hours after his inauguration.

In the first banking emergency in the state since the Great Depression, 300,000 depositors lost access to their money. Though some of the institutions reopened relatively quickly after obtaining federal insurance, many did not qualify and remained closed for an extended period of time. The state government set up an agency to manage the crisis, selling $697 million in bonds to repay people while filing about 300 lawsuits against the closed institutions and other companies that played a role in the crisis.

The shutdown sparked demonstrations and protests. Corruption hearings added to public frustration, when several executives and public officials were called to testify about their last minute withdrawals from banks just before their closure. The manhunt for Joseph Mollicone Jr, the Heritage Loan & Investment president who had fled to Utah, took nearly 18 months before he turned himself in. He was convicted, and given what at that time was the state's most severe sentence for a "white collar" offense.

Though all depositors were eventually repaid, most had to wait months or years for compensation. Most of the big banks remained closed for more than a year, and several never reopened.