Mercantile Bank of India

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Mercantile Bank of India, London and

ChinaThis article is about the historic British bank, Mercantile Bank, Ltd which was acquired by

HSBC in 1959.

Mercantile Bank, Ltd

Industry Financial Services

Fate

Acquired by HSBC1959

Acquired by Citibank1984

Acquired by the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd.1987

Predecessor(s)

Mercantile Bank of Bombay (1853)

Mercantile Bank of India, London,

and China(1857)

Mercantile Bank of India, Ltd(1893)

Founded 1853

Headquarters

Bombay

(1853)

London(1858)

The Mercantile Bank of India, London and China (later, Mercantile Bank, Ltd) was an

Anglo-Indian bank with business focus in the Far East. It was founded in Bombay in 1853 as

the 'Mercantile Bank of Bombay'; and later in 1857 was renamed to 'Mercantile Bank of India,

London, and China' with London as its headquarters.

By 1959, through a series of mergers and divisions, its name had been shortened to 'Mercantile

Bank, Ltd', and was acquired by HSBC the same year. The bank was an issuer of Hong Kong

bank notes till 1974.

Contents

1 History

o 1.1 Early years : 1853 to 1900

o 1.2 Transition years : 1900 to 1959

o 1.3 Amalgamation into HSBC and divestment : 1959 - 1987

2 Operations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Serviceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSBChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citibankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bank_of_Tokyo-Mitsubishi,_Ltd.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bank_of_Tokyo-Mitsubishi,_Ltd.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far_Easthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#Historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#Early_years_:_1853_to_1900http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#Transition_years_:_1900_to_1959http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#Amalgamation_into_HSBC_and_divestment_:_1959_-_1987http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#Operationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Serviceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSBChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citibankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bank_of_Tokyo-Mitsubishi,_Ltd.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bank_of_Tokyo-Mitsubishi,_Ltd.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far_Easthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#Historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#Early_years_:_1853_to_1900http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#Transition_years_:_1900_to_1959http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#Amalgamation_into_HSBC_and_divestment_:_1959_-_1987http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#Operations


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3 See also

4 References

History

Early years : 1853 to 1900

The historic bank started life in October 1853 as the 'Mercantile Bank of Bombay', taking the

name of the city, Bombay (now Mumbai), where it was founded. It expanded its operations to

the Far East in November 1854 with the opening of an office in Shanghai. In 1857, the bank

was granted a royal charter, and it established a presence in Hong Kong. The name was late

changed to the 'Mercantile Bank of India, London, and China', and it moved its

headquarters to London in 1858.

It competed with the other great British banks of those times, namely - Oriental Bank

Corporation, the Hongkong & Shanghai Bankand Chartered Bank of India, Australia and

China; involved in trade between India and China and otherBritish possessions,East of suez.

By 1860, its total assets reached the amount of 21.7 million USD, a medium-sized bank by the

standards of that time - a comparison shows that one of the leading Anglo-Indian banks, the

Oriental Bank Corporation was about three times larger in terms of total assets. With the

opening of theSuez Canal in 1869; and completion ofIndo-European telegraph linefrom

London to Calcutta, and its extension to China in 1871; most British banks (including

Mercantile bank) were well placed to expand and develop its business.

The bank expanded its presence with branches across India, theStraits Settlementsand

Federated Malay States, in Hong Kong and in Shanghai. It issued banknotes in Penang,

Singapore and Hong Kong. It became the issuer ofHong Kong banknotes for the first time

from 1859 to 1892.

Trouble in 1893 meant it lost its charter, and was reconstituted as the 'Mercantile Bank of

India, Ltd'.

Transition years : 1900 to 1959

There was a re-consolidation of its operations at the beginning of 20th century; and in 1912 it

again became issuer of Hong Kong banknotes, a privilege it continued till 1974.

During the Second World War, the Mercantile Bank had to close down several offices in the

Far East, but it managed to re-open its offices after the war. The Hong Kong office re-opened

in February 1946 and the Shanghai office in 1945, but was closed down its Shanghai

operations in 1952 due to the Communist party rule. In 1952, total assets of the bank totaled

205.5 million USD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_charterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Bank_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Bank_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hongkong_and_Shanghai_Banking_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartered_Bank_of_India,_Australia_and_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartered_Bank_of_India,_Australia_and_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_possessionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_of_suezhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_of_suezhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Bank_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_telegraph_linehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_telegraph_linehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcuttahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straits_Settlementshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straits_Settlementshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straits_Settlementshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_Malay_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_banknoteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1893http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Charterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Charterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_of_India,_London_and_China#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_charterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Bank_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Bank_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hongkong_and_Shanghai_Banking_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartered_Bank_of_India,_Australia_and_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartered_Bank_of_India,_Australia_and_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_possessionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_of_suezhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Bank_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_telegraph_linehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcuttahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straits_Settlementshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_Malay_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_banknoteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1893http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Charterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_China


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Amalgamation into HSBC and divestment: 1959 - 1987

The bank was acquired in 1959 byThe Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. By then

its name had been shortened again, to 'Mercantile Bank, Ltd'. The acquired office in Bombaynow houses the HSBC Group's Head Office in India.

The Mercantile Bank continued to issue Hong Kong banknotes till the early 1970's. The

signing of historicSino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, provided HSBC added impetus to

expand overseas and sold the entity - Mercantile Bank, Ltd toCitibankthe same year as part of

its consolidation strategy. It was eventually sold to the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd. in

1987.

Operations

Hong Kong

China

India

Shanghai

Straits Settlements

Federated Malay States

Mercantile Bank (disambiguation)

Mercantile Bank, was a historic British bank founded in 1853, and later acquired by HSBC in1959.

It may also refer to;

Mercantile Bank Limited, South Africa, a bank head-quartered in Sandown, Gauteng,

South Africa; which commenced operation in 1987 and operates under the bank

holding company - Mercantile Bank Holdings Limited.

Mercantile Bank of South Financial Group, a bank operating under the bank holding

company - South Financial Group, which was acquired in 2010 by TD Bank Financial

Group and subsequently renamed to TD Bank on 13 June, 2011

Mercantile Bancorporation, a former bank holding company in Missouri, which was

acquired by Firstar Corporation in 1999

Mercantile Bank Limited, Bangladesh, a bank head-quartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh

and commenced operation on 2 June, 1999
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hongkong_and_Shanghai_Banking_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hongkong_and_Shanghai_Banking_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hongkong_and_Shanghai_Banking_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSBC_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-British_Joint_Declarationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-British_Joint_Declarationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citibankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citibankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bank_of_Tokyo-Mitsubishi,_Ltd.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straits_Settlementshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_Malay_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_Limited,_South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Financial_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bancorporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_Limited,_Bangladeshhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_Limited,_Bangladeshhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hongkong_and_Shanghai_Banking_Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSBC_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-British_Joint_Declarationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citibankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bank_of_Tokyo-Mitsubishi,_Ltd.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straits_Settlementshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_Malay_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_Limited,_South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Financial_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bancorporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantile_Bank_Limited,_Bangladesh

Documents

Mercantile Bank of India