The History of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation

This third volume of a four-volume history of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation covers a period of great difficulty for an Eastern exchange bank. There was a return from 'grandeur' - from multi-national financial negotiations, from imposing building programs, from schemes of monetary and administrative reform. The sudden rise and dramatic fall of silver, increasingly effective Asian nationalism, and the impact of the Great Depression and Japanese aggression in the 1930s all forced the Bank to focus on survival. Nevertheless, the Bank never neglected its public role in Hong Kong and the other Asian territories it served. Then during the Nanking Decade (1928–1937) and after the Bank was once again able to assist the Republic of China. The Hongkong Bank's ability to redefine its role and continue a constructive policy in the East are the main themes of this volume. Strong management, a loyal staff, and an ability to undertake sometimes painful adjustments are the key elements analyzed. During the Pacific War virtually all the Bank's branches in the East were overrun and the Bankers interned. But Head Office was reestablished in London, providing continuity with the post–1945 years. The History is based primarily on the Bank's Shanghai and London archives and on varied public and private papers. The result is a major contribution to an understanding of the financial history underlying complex economic and political developments.