The Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank () is a bank of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, currently based in Taipei, Taiwan. In 1915, it was founded by Chen Guangfu (

K. P. Chen Kwang Pu Chen (; 1880 – July 1976) was a Shanghai-based Chinese banker and State Councillor. He was the founder of the first modern Chinese savings bank, the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank, the Shanghai Commercial Bank, a travel agency ...

) in Shanghai, mainland China. Chen became the first president, and The-Chin Chuang was elected first chairman.

Early years

The bank was established in Shanghai in 1915 by Chen Guangfu, a graduate of the

Wharton School of Finance The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university i ...

and one of the most successful Chinese bankers of the 20th century.''The Making of Modern Chinese Financial Entrepreneurship: The Case of Chen Guangfu'' by Pui-tak Lee, University of Hong Kong In 1931, the Bank completed the construction of its head office building in Shanghai, which was the most modern banking edifice in China at that time. The bank started its business with a capital of less than 100,000 silver dollars and with a workforce of four. In 1934, the bank had become the nation’s top private bank, with over 2,700 employees and over 110 branches.

World War 2

During World War II, the bank, with a new board of directors and supervisors, moved its head office to Chongqing, the wartime capital of Chinese resistance. The head office remained in

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

until the end of the war. In addition, the bank extended its banking network from the southeastern, middle, and northern parts of the country, to the southwestern and northwestern parts. Due to political reasons, the bank was forced to shut down in 1950.

Post-war

In 1954, the bank accompanied the government to Taiwan and was allowed to establish its head office in Taipei to prepare for the resumption of business. It was not until June 1965 that the bank was approved to restart its operation in Taipei with a capital of NT$15 million. Chen was the chairman, and the bank was the only private mainland bank to relocate to Taiwan. During the resumption, the bank acted conservatively. The Savings Department and

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

Branch were set up in 1966 and 1971, respectively.

References

Reading

* ''The Making of Modern Chinese Financial Entrepreneurship: The Case of Chen Guangfu'' by Pui-tak Lee, University of Hong Kong * Personal papers of

deposited in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University, * Recently published materials about

from mainland China's archives * The Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank, Ltd

External links