History timeline

How did a local Hong Kong bank become one of the world’s great financial services organisations? This is the story of our origins, growth, challenges and international expansion – and how we have been opening up a world of opportunity for more than 150 years.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, as it was known then, was founded by Thomas Sutherland, a young Scotsman who worked in Hong Kong for a large shipping firm.

Local and foreign trade in Hong Kong and at ports in China and Japan had increased rapidly in previous years, and Sutherland recognised that businesses needed better local banking facilities. By the time Sutherland’s prospectus was published, and backed by Hong Kong’s biggest firms, he had raised of HKD5 million of founding capital, [almost HKD100m in today’s money].

The 20,000 shares issued sold quickly and we opened our doors – in Hong Kong on 3 March 1865 – and in Shanghai a month later.

Our first office was in Wardley House at 1 Queen’s Road in the heart of Hong Kong’s Central district. 1 Queen’s Road Central remains our Hong Kong headquarters today.

War and economic disruption inevitably meant that the first half of the 20th century was a difficult time for many people and, despite our focus in Asia, we were still affected by the First World War. Forty of the 169 HSBC employees from the bank’s London office who joined the British forces during the war were killed or listed as missing in action.

After the First World War, the bank expanded in Asia, where trade in rubber and tin was booming, opening branches in Bangkok, Manila and Shanghai, which underlined our confidence in the region. In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, our inner reserves were drawn down and the bank focused most of its resources on survival rather than expansion. Staff bonuses were cut or cancelled and shareholder dividends were reduced.

The Second World War was an even tougher period for the bank. It survived thanks to its significant reserves and careful management, which allowed the business to retain a strong foundation for growth when peace returned.

The postwar decades were a period of great change and growth for HSBC. During the 1950s the bank closed its China network – apart from its Shanghai branch – following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, and started to make its first acquisitions. We acquired the British Bank of the Middle East (BBME; pictured above is a banknote issued by BBME in the early 20th century) and the Mercantile Bank in 1959.

In Hong Kong we focused on retail banking and industrial financing in the 1960s and 1970s, opening a large branch network, and responded to competition by founding our own investment banking subsidiary, Wardley, in 1972.

After deals in the Middle East, India and the US, we needed a strong foothold in Europe to complete our international transformation. In 1992, we achieved this through the acquisition of Midland Bank in the UK. Our long experience and diversification helped weather the Asian financial crisis, the global financial crisis and the challenges that followed. In recent years we have implemented a series of closures and disposals, making HSBC easier to manage and better positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities.

In China, however, we have grown: both organically, following the establishment of HSBC Bank China in 2007; and through a series of alliances with Chinese financial institutions.