| Also known as a bank run, this is what happens in a fractional reserve system when depositors lose confidence in the banks. They go to withdraw their money, but the bank does not have enough to pay them, because it has loaned out more than it has. This causes more and more depositors to panic, and to demand their money more viciously.
Enough runs on the bank can cause economic disaster. They also can cause riots, and unemployment for bankers. | 
