The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings Limited. It is a founding member of the HSBC Group and its flagship in the Asia-Pacific region. It is also the Hong Kong The largest registered bank and one of the three major note-issuing banks in Hong Kong (the other two are Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Standard Chartered Bank), headquartered in the Hong Kong HSBC Head Office Building, 1 Queen's Road Central, Central, currently the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and its subsidiaries The company has approximately 700 branches and offices mainly in the Asia-Pacific region.
History
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was originally founded by Scotsman Thomas Sutherland in Hong Kong in 1864 with a capital of 500 Ten thousand Hong Kong dollars. The initial members of the founding committee included Messrs Dent & Co. (Chairman of the Committee), Messrs Aug Heard & Co., Messrs Sassoon Sons & Co., and British Steam Navigation Co. The Peninsular & Oriental Steam, Messrs Siemssen & Co, Gilman & Co, Messrs P Cama Co, etc. [1]. It was officially founded in Hong Kong on March 3, 1865. A month after the opening of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, a branch in Shanghai opened, a London branch also opened in July, and an agency in San Francisco until it became a full-service branch in 1875. In 1866, HSBC opened a branch in Yokohama, Japan, and became a consultant to the Japanese government. In 1888, HSBC Thailand Branch was established, becoming the first bank in Thailand and issuing the first batch of banknotes for Thailand. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation initially provided financial services to foreign companies (mainly British-owned) in China. Although it had established a network of branches and agency banks around the world in its early days, its main business was still in China and other Asia-Pacific regions.
In the late Qing Dynasty, when the imperial court built the Songhulu Road, Zuo Zongtang’s Western Expedition, the Sino-Japanese War of 1898, etc., it had to borrow money from HSBC, making it the largest creditor of the imperial court.
The original name of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Company Limited. In 1866, its English name was changed to The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. In 1881, its Chinese name was changed to Hong Kong and Shanghai. HSBC. It is said that the word "HSBC" was suggested by the Chinese comprador Gu Yingchun after calculating the fortune and misfortune of the strokes, and took its meaning of "rich remittances".
By 1900, HSBC also established branches in other parts of the Far East, such as India and Singapore. After 1911, HSBC obtained the right to collect Chinese customs duties and salt taxes. By the beginning of the 20th century, HSBC had become the largest bank in the Far East. The foreign exchange handled by HSBC often accounts for 60-70% of the Shanghai foreign exchange market trading volume.
HSBC's business was temporarily interrupted during World War I. With the end of the war, the company's business expanded further.
During World War II, HSBC's business was again affected and its head office was temporarily moved to London. After the war, business operations in Hong Kong resumed operations and the operating rights of the Hong Kong head office were regained. In 1949, as the Communist Party of China took power, HSBC's branches in mainland China were closed one after another. Only the branch in Shanghai continued to operate. HSBC became one of the few foreign banks that did not interrupt its business in mainland China. In view of the limited development space, HSBC began to operate as a group in the 1950s.
HSBC branches across China before 1949
Shanghai Branch: established in 1865. In 1923, a luxurious Shanghai HSBC Bank Building (today's No. 12 Zhongshan East 1st Road, Shanghai) was built in the Bund, the financial center of Shanghai (belonging to the Shanghai Public Concession). It is currently the headquarters of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank; HSBC once cooperated with The Shanghai Municipal Government contacted and hoped to buy back the building, but in the end it was not realized due to price reasons). This building is known as "the most elegant building from the Suez Canal to the Bering Strait in the Far East", with a construction area of ??23,000 square meters, and is still recognized as The most beautiful building in the Bund complex. The building was designed by Wilson, the architect of Gonghe Bank. The octagonal pavilion after entering the gate has eight mosaic murals, representing eight cities around the world with branches: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Calcutta, Bangkok, London, Paris and New York. , the mural was covered with plaster in 1954 and was not revealed to the world until 1997. Now, together with the entire modern building complex on the Bund, it is listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit.
Hankou Branch: Opened in 1866, a two-story building was built on the river beach in the British Concession of Hankou. From 1913 to 1920, it was rebuilt into a luxurious classical style 4-story building with a construction area of ??10,244 square meters. The colonnade on the front adopts Ionic columns. It is now the Wuhan Branch of China Everbright Bank. It is now listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Hubei Province.
Xiamen Branch:
Fuzhou Branch: Located on Tating Road, Cangshan, it is a two-story Western-style red building built in the 19th century.
Tianjin Branch: Opened in 1882. In 1925, a bank building in the classical Italian style was built at the corner of Victoria Road (now No. 84 Jiefang North Road) and Consul Road (now Datong Road) in the British Concession in Tianjin. It has a gorgeous roof and the front colonnade is also made of Io. Ni Zhu type. Designed by Tonghe Engineering Department. It is now the Tianjin Branch of the People's Bank of China.
Yantai Branch: Located on Zida Road (today's Customs Street), it is a colonial-style bungalow built in the 19th century and is listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Yantai City.
Beijing Branch:
Guangzhou Branch: There is a 4-story building (today's Victory Hotel) built in the British Concession of Guangzhou in Shamian with a dome at the corner. Now, together with the entire Shamian modern building complex, it is listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit.
Qingdao Branch:
Harbin Branch: Opened in 1915, located in Daoli Shuidao Street (today's Zhaolin Street), a 4-story building in classic style was built in 1923. It is listed as a first-class protected building in Harbin.
Shenyang Branch: From 1931 to 1932, a 5-story building (today’s Bank of Communications Shenyang Branch) was built on Elevenwei Road.
Chongqing Branch:
Recent Developments
The trademark of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation before the unified brand of the HSBC Group. Since the 1960s, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation has been known as HSBC Bank. The official abbreviation (the official abbreviation in English is HongkongBank, and is distinguished from HSBC Bank of Canada, HSBC Australia and HSBC Malaysia [2]) until November 1998 when the HSBC Group announced a unified brand. In 1983, the logo was changed from the original "colonial emblem" to the current hexagonal logo (this logo was slightly modified in 1999). In 1989, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation voluntarily registered as a limited company under the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance and was subject to the regulations of the Ordinance.
In 1991, HSBC Holdings, the parent company of HSBC Holdings, was established. The shares of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation were transferred to HSBC Holdings, and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was wholly owned by HSBC Holdings. In 1994, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation's business in Malaysia was transferred to HSBC Bank Malaysia, which was incorporated locally.
Hong Kong Business
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation started with Hong Kong business. When it opened, it was owned by Sassoon & Co., one of its shareholders at the time, and it was located on Wardley Street (now known as Bank Street) in Central. The Dolly Building was used as the headquarters and the right to issue banknotes was obtained. At that time, the location of the headquarters was similar to the current location, and it was purchased and converted into the second generation head office in 1886.
In the 1880s, the Credit Union Bank closed down due to the loss of Ceylon coffee harvest. HSBC obtained the Hong Kong government's current account from the Credit Union Bank and became Hong Kong's quasi-central bank. In 1872, it was authorized by the British Hong Kong government to issue 1-dollar banknotes to supplement the serious shortage of 1-dollar silver coins. After World War II, HSBC shouldered the important task of rebuilding Hong Kong's economy. During the two banking crises in the 1960s and 1980s, HSBC was the final savior. Currently, three-quarters of the adult population in Hong Kong hold personal accounts with the bank.
Hong Kong dollar banknotes
Main article: Hong Kong banknotes
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation has been issuing Hong Kong dollar banknotes since its establishment, but in the early days they were mainly used for commercial purposes. transaction. It was not until 1935 that the British Hong Kong government passed the Currency Ordinance, and HSBC was authorized to issue Hong Kong dollar banknotes above 5 yuan (the issuance of 5 yuan banknotes was terminated immediately after the issuance in 1975). Since 1994, the government has issued 10-yuan coins, and HSBC has no longer issued 10-yuan banknotes since then (the latest one was issued on January 1, 1992). At present, HSBC's Hong Kong dollar banknote issuance accounts for more than 63% of the banknotes in circulation in Hong Kong.