On 8 March 1999, Ecuador's government unexpectedly declared a bank holiday. Contemporary reporting says surprised customers gathered outside banks in Quito and Guayaquil and faced long lines at cash machines as they tried to withdraw money. When banks reopened a week later, much of the country's deposits remained frozen; in Quito, hundreds of customers sought answers about what had happened to their accounts.
They were not queueing to compare attractive financial products. They wanted to know whether they could reach money intended for food, housing and ordinary bills. A bank run turns an abstract financial crisis into one person's place at an ATM. Moving closer to the front did not lift the freeze on savings. That contradiction was part of the wait in 1999.