Wing Lung Bank
Encyclopedia
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
based in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. As of 2010, it has 39 branches, including one branch in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and one branch in the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
.
The bank was founded in 1933 by Dr. Wu Yee-Sun
Wu Yee-sun
Dr. Wu Yee-sun was a Hong Kong entrepreneur and billionaire who founded the Wing Lung Bank. His father, Wu York-Yu , and grandfather, Wu Yee-Hong , were both enthusiastic practitioners of the "grow and clip" method of training penjing, which came to be known as the "Lingnan School".Dr...
, who owned a majority stake in the bank. It was listed in Hong Kong from 1980 to 2009 until it was acquired by China Merchants Bank
China Merchants Bank
China Merchants Bank is a bank headquartered in Shenzhen, China. Founded in 1987, it is the first share-holding commercial bank wholly owned by corporate legal entities.CMB has over five hundred branches in mainland China and one in Hong Kong...
. It currently employs 1,600 people and has assets of around HK$117.3 billion.
In 2008, China Merchants Bank
China Merchants Bank
China Merchants Bank is a bank headquartered in Shenzhen, China. Founded in 1987, it is the first share-holding commercial bank wholly owned by corporate legal entities.CMB has over five hundred branches in mainland China and one in Hong Kong...
purchased 53.12 percent of Wing Lung Bank's equity
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
and became the largest shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
of the bank. Dr. Ma Weihua (China Merchants Bank's President) and Dr. Zhang Guanghua (China Merchants Bank's Vice President) were appointed to be the Chairman and Vice Chairman of Wing Lung Bank respectively.
In 2009, China Merchants Bank acquired the remaining shares of Wing Lung Bank, and it became a wholly owned subsidiary of China Merchants Bank. It was delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after 16 January 2009. In May 2009, Wing Lung Bank adopted the corporate identity
Corporate identity
In Corporate Communications, a corporate identity is the "persona" of a corporation which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives...
of China Merchants Bank.
Business areas
Wing Lung Bank is one of the oldest local Chinese banks in Hong Kong. The bank provides comprehensive banking services, including deposits, mortgages and loans, commercial and corporate banking, foreign exchange, Mandatory Provident FundMandatory provident fund
The Mandatory Provident Fund , often abbreviated as MPF , is a compulsory saving scheme for the retirement of residents in Hong Kong...
services, credit cards, Internet banking, and wealth management
Wealth management
Wealth management is an investment advisory discipline that incorporates financial planning, investment portfolio management and a number of aggregated financial services...
. Through its subsidiaries, the bank also provides futures and securities broking services, corporate finance, insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
sales and underwriting
Underwriting
Underwriting refers to the process that a large financial service provider uses to assess the eligibility of a customer to receive their products . The name derives from the Lloyd's of London insurance market...
.
Wing Lung Bank has 39 banking offices in Hong Kong and Mainland China, two overseas branches in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
.
The Los Angeles branch, located in Alhambra, California
Alhambra, California
Alhambra is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, which is approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. As of the 2010 census, the population was 83,089, down from 85,804 at the 2000 census. The city's...
, features the largest glass Tile mural in North America, measuring 34.5 feet (10.5 m) tall by 129.5 feet (39.5 m) wide. The mural comprises approximately 1 million pieces of glass tile set in an abstract interpretation designed to reflect the nearby San Gabriel Mountains
San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
. The mural received the 2007 Spectrum Award, the top industry award for excellence in tile design and implementation.
History
1933:Wing Lung Ngan Ho, as the indigenous bank was then called, opened for business on 25 February 1933 at 37 Bonham Strand East, Hong Kong with an initial capital of HK$44,500. The business of the Bank then comprised money exchange, remittances, deposits, and the buying and selling of stocks and shares, gold bullion and Chinese Government bonds for customers. The business of the Bank grew with the years.
1937:
In order to cope with the Bank's growing business, the Bank moved to more spacious premises at 112 Queen's Road, Central, Hong Kong.
1941:
The Pacific War broke out and Hong Kong was occupied by the Japanese. The Bank evacuated Hong Kong, and some of the staff moved to Macau where the Bank continued its business; the rest of the staff moved to Liuzhou, Guangxi, China where the "Wing Lung Jewelry & Gold Dealers" was established. In these two places the Bank continued to repay its depositors, whose confidence in the Bank was maintained.
1945:
The Bank resumed operations in Hong Kong after the conclusion of the War.
1950:
The Bank joined the Hong Kong Bankers' Clearing House.
1952:
The Bank began to engage in documentary bill operations. In the same year the redevelopment of the Bank's old head office building was completed.
1953:
The Bank became the general agent of The National Insurance Company of New Zealand Ltd for Hong Kong and Macau.
1956:
The Bank was incorporated as a limited company. To cope with expanding business and the increase in staff members, the Bank premises were extended to adjacent premises previously purchased for redevelopment purposes.
1960:
The Chinese name of the Bank was changed to 永隆銀行有限公司.
1965:
The Bank's old head office building was redeveloped the third time to meet the expansion of its business activities.
1973:
A joint celebration for the opening of the new head office building situated between Des Voeux Road Central through Connaught Road Central and the 40th Anniversary of the Bank was held. The 25-storey Head Office Building stands 300 ft (91.4 m) with a total floor area of over 145000 sq ft (13,470.9 m²). In the same year, the Bank was reorganized as a public limited company and The Chartered Bank participated as a shareholder.
1975:
The Bank's another property, "Bank Centre" a 25-storey office building in Mongkok, Kowloon was completed. The "Bank Centre" standing 300 ft (91.4 m) with a total floor area of more than 245000 sq ft (22,761.2 m²) also houses our Mongkok Branch. In the same year the Bank installed an on-line computer system and its deposit operations have been computerised since then. At first the Bank used the services of a computer company. In 1981 the Bank set up a Computer Centre of its own, and since then operations of all the departments have gradually been computerised.
1980:
Early in the year 25% of the Bank's share capital was offered for sale to the public, and shares in the Bank began to be traded on the stock exchanges in Hong Kong.
1982:
The Bank joined forces with four other local Chinese banks to set up Joint Electronic Teller Services Ltd a cooperative network to provide automated teller machine service to customers.
1984:
The Bank's first overseas branch was set up in Los Angeles, California, USA.
1986:
The Bank's wholly owned subsidiary, Wing Lung Insurance Company Limited was authorised by the Government to engage in insurance business.
1987:
Standard Chartered Bank withdrew its interest in the Bank and transferred 10% of the Bank's capital to the companies controlled by the Wu family as a result of its change in investment policy.
The Bank's wholly owned subsidiary, Hongnet Limited (now known as Wing Lung Securities Limited) was established to provide securities broking services to customers.
1992:
The Development Bank of Singapore Limited acquired 10% of the Bank's share capital from the companies controlled by the Wu family and participated as a shareholder.
1994:
The Bank set up its Guangzhou Representative Office, its first presence in China.
1995:
The Bank began to engage in credit card operation.
1996:
The Bank set up an operation centre to centralize various back-office services and tasks previously handled by individual departments and branches.
A branch office was set up in the Cayman Islands, BWI to provide off-shore banking services for customers.
1998:
The Bank started to provide hire-purchase and leasing services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Wing Lung Finance Limited.
Wing Lung NET Banking was launched to deliver banking service to customers via internet.
1999:
The Bank set up a Representative Office in Shanghai.
The Bank joined in a partnership with other banks to set up the Bank Consortium Trust Company Limited to tap the Mandatory Provident Fund business.
The Bank introduced securities trading service through electronic channels, "Wing Lung Automated Securities" and "Wing Lung NET Banking" Services.
2000:
To expand the insurance operation, the Bank partnered with other banks to set up BC Reinsurance Limited and Hong Kong Life Insurance Limited.
2001:
The Bank purchased from IBM China/Hong Kong Limited the state-of-the-art teller terminal system to enhance its service to customers.
The Bank set up Wealth Management Centre to expand its wealth management service.
2002:
The paid-up capital of the Bank has been increased several times in the past by the issue of bonus shares to shareholders. At 31 December 2002, the total assets of the Bank stood at HK$61.7 billion.
2004:
Being the first bank approved to set up a branch on the Mainland after the signing of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between Mainland China and Hong Kong, the Bank opened its first Mainland branch in Shenzhen in early 2004.
DBS Bank Limited withdrew its interest in the Bank and transferred 10% of the Bank’s capital to Wu Jieh Yee Company Limited, one of the Bank’s substantial shareholders.
The new teller platform acquired from IBM China/Hong Kong Limited commenced operations upon completion of system development. Continuous efforts have been placed on the application of computer systems to meet customers’ demand for automated service channels as well as to strengthen management of various risks.
2005:
The Bank set up a sub-branch in Nanshan, Shenzhen.
2006:
The Bank celebrated the opening of its new building for Los Angeles Branch on a plot of land purchased by the Bank in the City of Alhambra, California, USA.
2007:
Shenzhen Branch and Shenzhen Nanshan Sub-branch started to provide Renminbi services after obtaining approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
At 31 December 2007, the total assets of the Bank stood at HK$93 billion.
2008:
On 31 January 2008, the Bank signed an agreement with Yantai City Commercial Bank, the second largest city commercial bank in Shandong Province, to acquire 4.99% of Yantai City Commercial Bank’s enlarged capital and became one of the key shareholders. (The transaction has still to be approved by Yantai City Commercial Bank’s shareholders and the relevant regulatory bodies.)
The Bank has upgraded its Shanghai Representative Office to a full branch after obtaining approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission. Shanghai Branch opened for business in early 2008.
The Bank commemorates its 75th Anniversary.
On 30 September 2008, China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd acquired a combined 53.12% stake in the Bank from the companies controlled by the Wu family. The Bank has become a member of the China Merchants Bank Group.
2009:
The Compulsory Acquisition of the Bank’s share by China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd was completed on 15 January 2009. The Bank became a direct wholly owned subsidiary of the China Merchants Bank Group.
In order to expand its branch network, the Bank established its Des Voeux Road West Branch, China Hong Kong City flagship Branch and Mei Foo Sun Chuen Branch in April, August and September 2009 respectively.