Imperial Bank of China, 1898 Peking branch Taels issue

The Imperial Bank of China (Traditional Chinese: 中國通商銀行, Simplified Chinese: 中国通商银行) was the first Chinese-owned bank modelled on Western banks and banking practices. It was founded in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

by Mr.

Sheng Xuanhuai Sheng Xuanhuai (; November 4, 1844 – April 27, 1916) was a Qing dynasty Chinese tycoon, politician, and educator. He founded several major banks and universities and served as Minister of Transportation of the Qing Empire. He was also known as ...

in 1897 successfully operating until 1913 when it was renamed to the

Commercial Bank of China The Imperial Bank of China (Traditional Chinese: 中國通商銀行, Simplified Chinese: 中国通商银行) was the first Chinese-owned bank modelled on Western banks and banking practices. It was founded in Shanghai by Mr. Sheng Xuanhuai in 189 ...

. The "rebranding" was for political reasons following the overthrow of the last emperor

Pu Yi Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...

by the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

in 1911. The manager, Andrew Wright Maitland (1850-1906), was hired out of retirement from

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly known as HSBC (), was the parent entity of the multinational HSBC banking group until 1991, and is now its Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific subsidiary. The largest bank in Hong K ...

. Ambitions for the bank were high, and it was proposed that it takeover the issuance of

banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

throughout China. Maitland's signature
A.W. Maitland
- appears on the banknotes.There are several banknotes issued by the Imperial Bank of China, in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

collection.http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.aspx?people=174435 Although offices were opened in

Canton (Guangzhou) Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kong ...

and

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

(then Peking) the Imperial Bank of China never received the full support of central government and it became marginalised. The bank was closed down in 1952 after being taken over by the

Central Government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...

of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

History

The Imperial Bank of China, which was China's first modern bank and China's first

limited liability Limited liability is a legal status in which a person's financial liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a corporation, company or partnership. If a company that provides limited liability to it ...

bank, opened for business in 1897. The Imperial Bank of China is also notable for being the first indigenous Chinese bank to employ foreigners as a part of their staff and it was the first of many Chinese banks to order their banknotes from foreign printers. The bank was organised as a joint-stock firm. The Chinese official

, who was a patron of the bank, adopted the internal regulations of

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

, and its senior managers were foreign professionals. Following the early guidelines of the HSBC, the total number of banknotes issued by the Imperial Bank of China was at no time to exceed its paid-up capital, furthermore these guidelines also stipulated that ⅓ of it would have to be covered by a reserve in

hard currency In macroeconomics, hard currency, safe-haven currency, or strong currency is any globally traded currency that serves as a reliable and stable store of value. Factors contributing to a currency's ''hard'' status might include the stability and ...

. Balance sheet data of the Imperial Bank of China is fragmentary but it suggests that these guidelines on banknote issuance may not have been actively used after 1906. The fact that the IBC followed HSBC guidelines gave it a good reputation among foreign investors. Since the coffers of the imperial Chinese government had been depleted by the end of the nineteenth century, Sheng started selling equity in the new financial institution to bureaucracies both within and outside of the Chinese government. During this period Chinese official

Zhang Zhidong Zhang Zhidong () (4 September 18375 October 1909) was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Qing dynasty. Along with Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong was one of the four most famous officials of the late Qing ...

feared that many imperial institutions would come in the hands of private owners but Sheng managed to maintain a good relationship with the imperial government despite these fears. There is ample evidence to suggest that domestic Chinese financial institutions had lent a large number of

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

to expatriate-run companies during the latter days of the Qing dynasty even when foreigner nationals were not among their main shareholders. In the year 1901 73% of the loan portfolio of the IBC was advanced to foreign firms. After the proclamation of the Republic of China, the bank changed its English name to the Commercial Bank of China in 1912. The name more accurately translated its Chinese name and removed any link to the Qing Dynasty.

References

Sources

* Chen Limao (陳禮茂) (2003) ''Zhang Zhidongzai Zhongguo tongshang yinhang chunagban guochengzhong de yanlun shuping'' (張之洞在中國通商銀行創辦過程中的言論述評). Anhui shixue. (in

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...

). * Feuerwerker, A. (1958) ''China’s early industrialization: sheng Hsuan-huai (1844–1916) and the mandarin enterprise.'' Publisher:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. * Hamashita Takeshi (濱下武志) (1980) ''Chūgokutsūshōginkō no setsuritsu to Honkon Shanhaiginkō'' (中国通商銀行の設立と香港上海銀行). Hitotsubashironsō. (in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

). * Huang Jianhui (黃鑒暉) (1994) ''Zhongguo yinhangyeshi'' (中國銀行業史). Shanxi jingji chubanshe,

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

. (in

). {{Banks of the Qing dynasty Defunct banks of China Banks established in 1897 Economic history of China Banking in China Banks based in Shanghai Banks disestablished in 1952

History

See also

References

Sources