The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (traditional Chinese: 香港上海滙豐銀行有限公司), based in Hong Kong, is a wholly owned subsidiary and the founding member of the HSBC group, which is traded on several stock exchanges as HSBC Holdings plc. The business ranges from the traditional High Street roles of personal finance and commercial banking, to corporate and investment banking, and private banking. It is the largest bank in Hong Kong and has offices in Asia Pacific region.

HSBC is one of the oldest banking groups in the modern world. The bank is known locally in the expatriate community simply as The Bank or as "Hongkong Bank".

Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Foundation
1.2 Business development
1.3 Second World War
1.4 International expansion
1.5 The creation of the HSBC Group
2 Hong Kong banking
2.1 Headquarters
2.2 Hong Kong dollar bank notes
3 Other Hong Kong operations
3.1 Hang Seng Bank
4 Asia Pacific operations
4.1 Bangladesh
4.2 China
4.3 India
4.4 Indonesia
4.5 Japan
4.6 New Zealand
4.7 Philippines
4.8 Singapore
4.9 South Korea
4.10 Sri Lanka
4.11 Taiwan
4.12 Thailand
5 Cultural References
6 See also
7 External links
8 References



[edit] History

[edit] Foundation
After the British established Hong Kong as a colony in the aftermath of the Opium Wars, local merchants felt the need for a bank to finance the growing trade between China and Europe (with traded products including opium).[1][2] They established the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (traditional Chinese: 香港上海滙豐銀行有限公司) in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 1865.

The founder, a Scotsman named Thomas Sutherland, wanted a bank operating on "sound Scottish banking principles." Still, the original location of the bank was considered crucial and the founders chose Wardley House in Hong Kong since the construction was based on some of the best feng shui in Colonial Hong Kong.[3] The bank initially leased its premises for HKD $500 a month in 1864.

After raising a capital stock of HKD $5 million, the "Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Company Limited" opened its doors on 3 March 1865. It opened a branch in Shanghai during April of that year. The bank was incorporated in Hong Kong by special dispensation from the British Treasury in 1866, and under the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Ordinance 1866,[4] a new branch in Japan was also established. The bank handled the first public loan in China in 1874, thereafter issuing most public loans.


[edit] Business development
Sir Thomas Jackson Bart became chief manager in 1876. During his twenty-six year tenure, the Bank became a leader in Asia. Notable events included being the first bank established in Thailand, in 1888, where it printed the country's first banknotes; acting as banker for the Hong Kong government from the 1880s; and participating in the management of British colonial government accounts in China, Japan, Penang and Singapore. A period of expansion followed, with new branch offices opening in Bangkok (1921), Manila (1922) and Shanghai (1923), and a new head office building in Hong Kong in 1935.


[edit] Second World War
In anticipation of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in 1941, the Bank's head office moved to London. During the period 1941-1943 the chief manager Vandeleur Grayburn, and his successor David C Edmondston, both died while interned by the Japanese. Arthur Morse was appointed Chief Manager in 1943 and led the bank after the war. The head office moved back to Hong Kong in 1946. During the Japanese occupation the Bank's head office building was occupied as the headquarters of the Hong Kong Japanese military government.


[edit] International expansion
Michael Turner became Chief Manager in 1953 and set about diversifying the business. His tenure came to an end in 1962 having established The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation of California 1955 and having acquired The British Bank of the Middle East and the Mercantile Bank (based in India) in 1959. In 1962, H.J. Shen., the managing director of Maysun Trading Co. and the former head of the Central Trust of China, became the first ethnic Chinese official appointed to the position of Chief Manager of the bank. Under the tenure of both H.J. Shen and Jake Saunders the bank continued to expand. 1965 saw the bank purchase a controlling interest in Hang Seng Bank of Hong Kong, and 1972 the formation of a merchant banking arm, Wardley Limited.

In 1964 the Chief Managership was superseded as the top executive role in the bank by an Executive Chairmanship (Saunders taking this role until retirement in 1972).

In 1980, the Bank launched a hostile takeover bid for the Royal Bank of Scotland, although the bid was blocked by the British government.