(7.5.1)--HSBC企业史-our-story.pdf

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1、Our storyHSBCs founders started out in 1865 with a clear and simple aim to establish a bank in Hong Kong and Shanghai for the support of local and foreign trade which has become so much more extensive and varied than in former years.Down the decades,we have grown and adapted in order to weather chan

2、ge and meet the many challenges we have encountered along the way:revolutions,global confl ict,economic crises,natural disasters,new markets and shifting demographics.Throughout it all,we have remained committed to our purpose:connecting customers to opportunities and enabling businesses to thrive a

3、nd economies to prosper.It is said that business is all about the bottom line,but behind the numbers are the people who make it happen:our employees,our customers,our shareholders and the communities in which we operate.Together,they have shaped HSBC into the organisation it is today.This is their s

4、tory.23456789101112131415161718ContentsThe birth of the bank 2Branching out 4The age of Jackson 6Supporting growth 8Interwar banking 10Challenges and change 14Crisis and recovery 16From entrept to manufacturing centre 18Diversifi cation 20A modern fi nancial centre 22New opportunities 24A global bus

5、iness 26The way ahead 28Front cover images1 HSBCs Fuzhou branch staff in 1887.2 The staff of HSBCs Vladivostok branch in 1919.3 The London offi ce rugby team in 1913.4 The Tokyo dealing room in 1998.5 The international staff in Hong Kong in 1871.6 The New York manager at his desk in 1917.7 Staff in

6、Saudi Arabia in 2000.8 HSBCs cricket team in Mumbai in 1977.9 Raymond Cheng,who grew up to become a senior HSBC executive,posing with one of the bank lions in Hong Kong in 1965.10 Branch staff from Curitiba,Brazil in 2013.11 Friendly customer service at a Hong Kong branch,2000s.12 Back offi ce staff

7、 in York in 1928.13 HSBC Chairman Michael Sandberg opening a branch in Hong Kong,1980s.14 The fi rst staff at the Hyderabad service centre,2000.15 One of the lucky lions outside the 1923 Shanghai offi ce.16 HSBCs silver store in Shanghai,1920s.17 Staff at the Bradford,Kirkgate branch in 1974.18 HSBC

8、s Yokohama branch staff in 1907.Its head office was in Wardley House at 1 Queens Road in the City of Victoria;the heart of Hong Kongs Central district.The life of the city centred on these dusty streets facing the constantly ship-filled harbour,and it was here that Hong Kongs key financial instituti

9、on was born.Its founder was Thomas Sutherland,the Hong Kong Superintendent for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company.He established the bank as a response to the needs of the China coast business communities.Hong Kongs growth as an entrept meant local businesses needed more sophistica

10、ted banking facilities,but most transactions were still handled by European trading houses rather than banks.The bank was created to correct this deficiency.Sutherlands banking prospectus attracted interest across Hong Kongs business spectrum,including American and Indian trading houses and European

11、 firms.HSBCs founding board was multicultural right from the start,including men of Scottish,German,Indian,American,English and Norwegian descent.It was international in its business scope and customer-focused in its approach;the early response from customers in Hong Kong and Shanghai was positive.Y

12、et it could all have ended as swiftly as it began.Six of Hong Kongs 11 foreign banks collapsed in early 1866 due to bank runs,which in turn brought down many other businesses.HSBC weathered this financial storm by maintaining its payment period for bills of exchange when many banks were slashing the

13、irs.This brought the bank virtually immediate recognition as a leading financial institution and built a reputation,that endures to the present day,for resilience during crises.The birth of the bankThe Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is the founding member of the modern HSBC Group.

14、The company opened in Hong Kong on 3 March 1865 and in Shanghai one month later.2The HSBC Group Our storyThomas SutherlandThomas Sutherland was sailing along the South China coast on the steamer SS Manila in 1864 when he read an article on Scottish banking in Blackwoods Magazine.He was a Scot himsel

15、f,and despite never having held a bank account,he resolved to found a bank in Hong Kong based on sound Scottish banking principles.Unlike all other foreign banks in the territory,the new bank was to be locally headquartered and managed,unhindered by overseas directors with little knowledge or intere

16、st in the affairs of Hong Kong.Sutherland drew up a prospectus,and the banks Provisional Committee met in August 1864.Total capital was set at HKD5 million,all the shares allotted to Hong Kong were quickly taken up and the bank was born.1:An HSBC staff photo from 1871.The banks first Chief Manager,V

17、ictor Kresser,is seated at the centre.2:HSBCs first head office,Wardley House(at the centre),photographed in 1870.3:Hong Kongs busy harbour depicted by a Chinese artist in the 1860s.1Early customers HSBCs very fi rst customer was its fi rst Chief Manager,Victor Kresser,whose name can be found in the

18、 banks original customer ledger.The ledger survives,opening a window on the early dealings of the fl edgling organisation.Its alphabetical list of individual and commercial clients includes the merchant fi rm Abdoolally Ebrahim&Co,which still banks with HSBC today.Another early customer was Hormusje

19、e Mody,a Parsee merchant who was instrumental in founding The University of Hong Kong in 1910.WayfoongSince the late 19th century,the Chinese population of Hong Kong has known The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited by the rather more nimble nickname Wayfoong,represented by the Chinese

20、 characters 滙豐(hui-feng).In popular Cantonese romanisation,hui-feng became Wayfoong and translates as abundance of remittances or focus of wealth.233The HSBC Group Our storyBy the end of its fi rst decade of operations,HSBC was represented in seven countries across Asia,Europe and North America.It f

21、i nanced the export of tea and silk from China,cotton and jute from India,sugar from the Philippines,rice and silk from Vietnam and bought silver in San Francisco.The banks particular focus was fi nancing trade along the China coast,lending money to local export merchants and expanding its network o

22、f offi ces to Fuzhou and Xiamen to serve tea merchants.Shanghai was particularly important to HSBCs success;it was a centre for trade to Japan,a large port commanding the imports and exports of Chinas vast interior and a hub for the tea and silk trade.The Shanghai branch was a crucial contributor to

23、 the banks early profi ts,occasionally outstripping the head offi ce in Hong Kong in net earnings.In Japan,the bank built up its foreign trade and exchange business and expanded through new offi ces in Kobe(1870)and Osaka(1872).The banks managers offered advice and assistance to the modernising Japa

24、nese government on currency and banking matters,and HSBC supported the introduction of a standardised currency the silver yen in 1879.In India,the bank opened branches in the countrys principal silver markets Kolkata(1867)and Mumbai(1869)and dealt chiefl y with the fi nance of silver imports.HSBC le

25、arnt a number of valuable lessons in these early years.Economic downswings,business collapses and the decline in the value of silver encouraged tight internal controls,prudent lending and strong reserves.By putting these principles into practice,the bank prospered.Branching outTrade fi nance was a s

26、trong feature of the new banks local and international business.Following the fl ow of commerce,it expanded rapidly,establishing branches in ports such as Yokohama(1866),Kolkata(1867),Ho Chi Minh City(1870)and Manila(1875).4The HSBC Group Our story1:HSBCs Fuzhou branch staff in 1887.2:HSBCs Manila o

27、ffi ce and its staff,pictured in 1885.3:A selection of early HSBC banknotes.A valuable lessonThe 1870s were diffi cult for HSBC.Falling silver prices and a string of failures in the banking and mercantile sectors resulted in a period of commercial uncertainty.The bank was overexposed to certain indu

28、stries,and its London manager had engaged in unauthorised transactions,forcing HSBC to spend a large sum from its reserves to cover losses.To address these issues,the bank appointed its fi rst inspector and introduced new internal controls.By 1880,the banks chairman was able to report:“The business

29、of the bank is sound and prosperous.”145Tools of the trade HSBC began issuing banknotes in Hong Kong and China in 1865 to stimulate and accelerate trade.The notes were easier and more practical to use than silver(which was bulky and required testing and weighing at every transaction)and were trusted

30、 by local merchants as a stable and secure currency unit for transacting business.Nicknamed large cotton quilts by the Chinese,banknotes were crucial to Hong Kongs development as a global trading hub,and HSBC quickly became the colonys principal note issuer.The bank also issued notes in Japan,Singap

31、ore,Penang,Thailand and seven cities across China.Connecting customers to opportunities Throughout its history,HSBC has sought to link its customers to financial opportunities.The banks first branch in France opened in 1881,not in Paris but in Lyon,the worlds largest importer of raw Chinese silk.Bot

32、h the Lyon and Ho Chi Minh City branches were ideally placed to support the raw silk trade between Vietnam and France.Across the Pacific,HSBCs first North American office was established in San Francisco in 1875.This branch supported the areas large Chinese expatriate contingent by providing remitta

33、nce facilities between California and China.The HSBC Group Our story23Thomas Jackson,HSBC Chief Manager between 1876 and 1902,dominated this period of the banks growth.As the new century dawned with Jackson at the helm HSBC was the foremost financial institution in Asia.But Jackson did not do it alo

34、ne he was supported by an expert team of international managers and local staff.The international officers were trained in London and Hong Kong before taking up appointments across the globe.They were expected to be self-reliant,resilient and decisive,acting as ambassadors for the bank wherever they

35、 went.Upon reaching upper management,these bankers could call on their experiences in the varied settings of HSBCs operations to get the job done.Equally important were the banks local staff,whose nationalities varied according to branch location.In Hong Kong,the local staff comprised Chinese and Po

36、rtuguese employees working as clerks,shroffs and administrators,who ensured that daily operations ran smoothly.HSBC strengthened its international reputation with its achievements in government finance.By the 1880s,it was acting as a banker to the government of Hong Kong and as a sole or joint banke

37、r for British government accounts in China,Japan,Penang and Singapore.The period saw the issuance of Chinas first public loan,the eight per cent Foochow(Fuzhou)loan,in 1874.The bank issued many subsequent loans for government railway and infrastructure projects.In addition to guiding the bank throug

38、h troubled times,Jackson set an example in commercial morality.In doing so,he won the confidence and loyalty of his staff and the citizens they served and ensured that this once-small local bank became a prominent actor on the worlds financial stage.The age of JacksonBy 1900,HSBC was operating in 16

39、 countries and financing trade across the world.The branch network in Asia now extended to Singapore and to cities in present-day Malaysia,Myanmar,Sri Lanka,Vietnam and Indonesia.6The HSBC Group Our storyThomas Jackson Thomas Jackson was born in Ireland in 1841 and joined HSBC in 1866.He moved swift

40、ly up the ranks.In 1871,he was appointed Manager at Yokohama,where he presided over a prosperous period for the branch.In 1877,aged only 35,he was appointed Chief Manager of HSBC.This was a testing post as the bank had lost all but HKD100,000 of its original HKD1 million reserve.Jackson proved himse

41、lf equal to the role,and by the time he retired in 1888,he had turned the bank around.This was not the last the world would hear of the talismanic Irishman.Twice more,in 1890 and 1893,the bank fell into crisis,and Jackson returned from retirement to,in his own words,set the bank on an even keel.He w

42、as knighted in 1899,and to commemorate his incalculable contribution to the company,HSBC erected a bronze statue of Sir Thomas in Hong Kongs Statue Square in 1902.It remains there to this day,standing sentinel before the Hong Kong office.1:Chief Manager Thomas Jackson(bottom row centre)surrounded by

43、 members of the banks international staff in 1902.2:HSBCs first tailor-made head office,erected at 1 Queens Road Central in Hong Kong in 1886.Its interior was ultra-modern,featuring gas lighting,a lift and fire extinguishers.3:HSBCs office in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia,1915.1The marriage ruleIn the banks

44、 earlier days,junior offi cers had to wait 10 years before marrying a period known as being on ice.This was not only a means of guaranteeing the mobility and fl exibility of the banks staff but also a cost-saving measure since married staff required housing.Offi cers who married early or in secret r

45、isked dismissal,earning HSBC the nickname Heart and Soul Breaking Corporation.In special circumstances,the chief manager would make exceptions,but generally,employees had to resign themselves to a period on ice.The marriage rule was gradually relaxed to four years by the 1950s before it was phased o

46、ut completely.Sir Henry Blake Governor of Hong Kong,1902Who does not know TJ?I believe,ladies and gentlemen,that if letters were dropped in the post at St Petersburg,Berlin,Paris,London,San Francisco addressed TJ China they would fi nd their way into the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank in Queens Road.7Th

47、e HSBC Group Our story23Someone did actually attempt to reach Thomas Jackson using the above approach.The card was addressed and delivered safely to TJ China.Singapore Manager John Peter persuaded leading rubber merchants to open HSBC accounts and held the Straits dollar steady through his exchange

48、operations at a time when silver was wildly fluctuating.He was knighted for his efforts.The bank played an active role in the development of the economy and infrastructure of the Philippines during this period.From 1899 to 1910,it helped the government to stabilise the countrys monetary system,and i

49、n 1906,HSBC financed a 150-mile extension of the Manila-Dagupan railway.HSBCs expansion into China also continued as the bank opened a series of branches in Hongkou and Guangzhou(1909),Qingdao(1914)and Harbin(1915).In the same period,HSBC participated in Japanese railway and municipal loans for new

50、harbours,waterworks and gasworks.The bank shared in the issue of JPY278 million of these loans between 1906 and 1912.In recognition of these achievements,London Manager Alfred Townsend was decorated by the Emperor of Japan.In Sri Lanka,despite early challenges and keen competition,the Colombo branch