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by PhantomGremlin 3832 days ago
This is known as a bank run

George Bailey explained this, in one of the greatest movies ever made.[1]

   CHARLIE
   I'll take mine now.

   GEORGE
   No, but you . . . you . . . you're thinking of
   this place all wrong. As if I had the money back
   in a safe. The money's not here. Your money's in
   Joe's house . . .
   (to one of the men)
   . . . right next to yours. And in the Kennedy
   house, and Mrs. Macklin's house, and a hundred
   others. Why, you're lending them the money to
   build, and then, they're going to pay it back
   to you as best they can.
I have absolutely no idea what Switzerland will wind up with if they vote for this. But it certainly won't be banking as we know it.

[1] http://www.aellea.com/script/itsawonderfullife.txt