navigation search this article is about the hong kong bank . for its parent company see hsbc . this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . march 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message the hongkong and shanghai banking corporation limited type public non listed limited company origin body corporate formed by special ordinance 1 industry financial services founded established on 3 march 1865 ; 151 years ago 1865 03 03 in hong kong 2 as the hongkong and shanghai bank incorporated on 14 august 1866 ; 150 years ago 1866 08 14 3 as the hongkong and shanghai banking corporation founder sir thomas sutherland 1834 1922 headquarters hsbc main building central hong kong key people stuart gulliver chairman peter wong chief executive products retail banking commercial banking investment banking mortgage loans private banking wealth management credit cards finance and insurance revenue 78 337 mrd usd number of employees 216 000 includes subsidiaries 2013 parent hsbc holdings plc subsidiaries main subsidiaries hang seng bank limited hsbc bank china company limited hsbc broking services asia limited hsbc global asset management hong kong limited hsbc insurance asia pacific holdings limited hsbc private equity asia limited hsbc securities asia limited website www.hsbc.com.hk the hongkong and shanghai bank was established in british hong kong in 1865 and was incorporated as the hongkong and shanghai banking corporation in 1866 and has been based in hong kong although now as a subsidiary ever since . it was renamed the hongkong and shanghai banking corporation limited in 1989 . it is the founding member of the hsbc group of banks and companies since 1990 is the namesake and one of the leading subsidiaries of the london based hsbc holdings plc. the company s business ranges from the traditional high street roles of retail banking commercial banking corporate banking to investment banking private banking and global banking . it is the largest bank in hong kong and operates branches and offices throughout the asia pacific region and in other countries around the world . contents 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 1.6 curtailments 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 brunei 4.3 china 4.4 india 4.5 indonesia 4.6 japan 4.7 new zealand 4.8 philippines 4.9 singapore 4.10 south korea 4.11 sri lanka 4.12 taiwan 4.13 thailand 4.14 vietnam 5 cultural references 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit foundation edit the hsbc building left in the bund the headquarters of the shanghai branch of the hongkong and shanghai banking corporation from 1923 to 1955 after the british established hong kong as a colony in the aftermath of the first opium war merchants from other parts of the british empire now in hong kong felt the need for a bank to finance the growing trade through hong kong and sometimes also through shanghai between china and british india and the rest of the british empire and also the rest of europe of goods produces and merchandises of all kinds but especially of opium cultivated in or transited re exported through the raj 4 5 and to that end they organised amongst themselves and formed the hongkong and shanghai bank in hong kong march 1865 and in shanghai a one month later . the founder thomas sutherland of the peninsular and oriental steam navigation company 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 . 6 the bank initially leased its premises for hk 500 a month in 1864 . after raising a capital stock of hk 5 million the bank commenced operations on 3 march 1865 . it opened a branch in shanghai during april of that year and started issuing locally denominated banknotes in both the crown colony and shanghai soon afterwards . the bank was incorporated in hong kong as the hongkong and shanghai banking corporation by the hongkong and shanghai bank ordinance numbers 2 and 5 of 1866 7 and a branch in japan was also established in yokohama in 1866 . 2 8 the bank handled the first public loan in china in 1874 thereafter issuing most public loans . business development edit sir thomas jackson 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 citation needed 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 buildings constructed in bangkok 1921 manila 1922 and shanghai 1923 and a new head office building in hong kong in 1935 . second world war edit 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 sir 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 . international expansion edit the hongkong and shanghai banking corporation traditional chinese simplified chinese transcriptions standard mandarin hanyu pinyin xi ngg ng sh ngh i hu f ng y nh ng y uxi ng ngs yue cantonese jyutping hoeng1gong2 soeng5hoi2 wui6fung1 ngan2han4 jau5haan6gung1si1 yale romanization he ngk ng se hngh i wuihf ng ng nhaahn ya hhaahng ngs alternative chinese name traditional chinese simplified chinese transcriptions standard mandarin hanyu pinyin hu f ng yue cantonese jyutping wui6fung1 yale romanization wuihf ng 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 aug 1959 . turner was succeeded in 1962 by jake saunders . in 1964 the chief managership was superseded as the top executive role in the bank by an executive chairmanship . 9 saunders took this role until retirement in 1972 and was succeeded as chief manager in 1964 by h.j. shen the managing director of maysun trading co. and the former head of the central trust of china who became the first ethnic chinese to be appointed to the position of chief manager of the bank . under saunders tenure 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 1980 the bank launched a hostile takeover bid for the royal bank of scotland although the bid was blocked by the british government . the creation of the hsbc group edit in 1980 the bank now under the chairmanship of michael sandberg acquired a 51 % stake in marine midland bank of the united states of america and continued its expansion with the establishment of hongkong bank of canada now hsbc bank canada in 1981 and hongkongbank of australia limited now hsbc bank australia limited in 1986 . 1987 under the chairmanship of william purves saw the bank s ownership of marine midland bank increased to 100 % and the acquisition of a 14.9 % share in midland bank in the united kingdom . the present building in hong kong was designed by sir norman foster and was held as one of the most expensive and technologically advanced buildings in the world in 1986 costing hk 5.3 billion . 6 on 6 october 1989 it was renamed by the legislative council by an amendment to its governing ordinance originally made in 1929 the hongkong and shanghai banking corporation limited and became registered as a regulated bank with the then banking commissioner of the government of hong kong . 10 in 1991 the london based hsbc holdings plc was established as a parent company for the group ; shares are traded on the london hong kong paris new york and bermuda stock exchanges . curtailments edit in june 2011 hsbc has already cut 700 jobs in its uk retail banking . hsbc plans to reduce cost by up to 3.5 billion a year . 11 in september 2011 hsbc is cutting about 3 000 jobs over the next three years in hong kong . the number of 3 000 jobs may be less due to the bank will try to redeploy some staff to other roles . hong kong base employs 23 000 people . 12 credit card operations in us have been sold to capital one and await regulatory approvals with the transfer expected to complete q2 or q3 2012 . hong kong banking edit hsbc s hong kong head office under the hsbc brand the bank maintains a network of around 220 branches throughout the hong kong sar from which it offers a wide range of financial products and services . for some time in the late 1980s and early 1990s the bank was known by the name hongkongbank in its native city although it now trades as hsbc . during that period it also adopted the idiosyncratic practice of calling its atms electronic teller card etc machines . headquarters edit the hsbc hong kong headquarters building is located in no 1 queen s road central in the central district on hong kong island . 13 it was also home to hsbc holdings plc s headquarters until the latter firm s move to london to meet the requirements of the uk regulatory authorities after the acquisition of the midland bank in 1992 . it was designed by british architect norman lord foster and was the most expensive building in the world based on usable floor area at the time it was built . citation needed hong kong dollar bank notes edit main article banknotes of the hong kong dollar a hk 20 note issued by the hsbc hsbc is one of the three commercial banks which are authorised to issue banknotes for hong kong the other two being the bank of china hong kong and standard chartered bank hong kong . of the total notes in circulation measured by value hsbc is the most prolific issuer its notes representing 67.7 % of those in issue . hong kong is unusual in that it is one of the few countries or territories where commercial banks are still permitted to issue their own banknotes . other hong kong operations edit hang seng bank edit main article hang seng bank hsbc acquired a 62.14 % controlling interest in the local hang seng bank in 1965 during a crisis of the latter . the hang seng index for stock prices in hong kong is named after the hang seng bank . asia pacific operations edit this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . october 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message this section needs to be updated . please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . october 2014 the