BANK of East Asia Ltd, Hong Kong's third-largest lender, said operations are "quickly returning to normal" after the bank rejected rumors questioning the company's stability, prompting some customers to withdraw deposits.

BEA shares rose as much as 0.58 percent after rebounding 3.4 percent on Thursday and lines that had formed on Wednesday outside bank branches dried up, suggesting the effort to soothe depositors was succeeding, according to Bloomberg News.

"The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has joined us in unequivocally rejecting these rumors as false and unfounded," Chairman David Li said in an advertisement in the South China Morning Post and Standard newspapers yesterday.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang said on Thursday the rumors were "unfounded."

HKMA head Joseph Yam urged depositors to stay calm and pumped liquidity into the city's banking system.

Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing also bought shares in the bank.