HSBC celebrates 160 years of great stories
As the bank marks its anniversary, explore defining moments in its history gathered from the South China Morning Post archives
How did a bank founded in Hong Kong become one of the world’s leading financial services organisations? To answer this, we must wind back the clock to tell a story of international connectivity, innovation and community that spans 160 years, all in celebration of the birth of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.
Looking through the archives of the South China Morning Post, with its more than 120 years of news on Hong Kong, we have collated a time capsule of stories that illustrate the bank’s esteemed history.
April 17, 1908: telling the tale of HSBC’s founding
Sir Thomas Sutherland, the founder of HSBC, wrote a letter in which he recalled how he came to establish the bank in the 1860s. While serving as the superintendent of the P and O Company in Hong Kong, in charge of its business interests in China and Japan, he had a conversation with an associate about the Royal Bank of China’s high premium shares. This inspired him to develop a prospectus for a local bank for China. His principle for its success was based on the same cooperation that had been carried out with local insurance societies, which at the time were earning handsome returns for shareholders. Within days, the prospectus was advertised and the new bank’s shares became highly subscribed.
March 1, 1965: the bank’s gift to Hong Kong
To mark its 100th anniversary, HSBC donated scholarships worth HK$50,000 a year to train social workers at the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. At the time, the bank said the development of professional social work was an integral part of social services benefiting the people of Hong Kong, and a lack of trained staff had limited the rate at which the city had been able to progress in the social welfare field.