Wing On Bank
Encyclopedia
The Wing On Bank was a bank 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...

 that collapsed in 1986. It was majority owned by Wing On Holdings, a listed vehicle 68.8% controlled by the Kwok family, including Kwok Lam-po.

History

The bank was founded by the Kwok family, led by Kwok Lok (郭樂) (aka Guo Luo) and Kwok Chuen (郭泉) (aka Guo Chuan) in 1931, growing out of an insurance operation on the back of the successful Wing On
Wing On
Wing On is a department store company in Hong Kong.The company is currently owned by a Hong Kong listed company Wing On Company International Limited , incorporated in Bermuda...

 department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

.

Collapse

The bank collapsed in 1986 when its auditors had qualified the 1985 accounts on fundamental uncertainty, and its shareholders voted against a special resolution on capital injection of HK$154 million.

The Hang Seng Bank
Hang Seng Bank
Hang Seng Bank Limited is the second largest bank in Hong Kong. It is a listed company but it is majority owned by the HSBC Group via The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Hang Seng is also one of the constituent shares of the Hang Seng Index...

 stepped in and bailed out the lender with a cash injection of HK$150 million in December 1985.

Hang Seng assumed management control of the failed bank in June 1986, injected a total of HK$330 million, and rapidly returned it to profit. A number of unprofitable branches were closed down. The injection was transformed into a 50.3% stake, which was sold on.

The Legislative Council
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...

 approved an appropriation of HK$10 million to investigate possible criminal acts that might have caused the collapse of this and two other institutions. The Commercial Crime Bureau was brought in, and investigators established the bank had collapsed on doubtful loans of $275 million relating to the personal affairs of Albert Kwok the General Manager, who died in April 1986.

Dah Sing Bank became the eventual owners of the bank.
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