Wing Hang Bank

Infobox_Company
company_name = Wing Hang Bank Limited
Banco Weng Hang S.A.
company_
company_type = Public - sehk|0302
company_slogan = None used
foundation = Guangzhou, China (1937)
location = Hong Kong, Macau
key_people = Patrick Fung, CEO
num_employees = 2,263 (end-2003)
products = Banks, credit cards
slogan = None used
homepage = [http://www.whbhk.com/ www.whbhk.com/]

Wing Hang Bank Limited (ChT: 永亨銀行, pinyin: Yǒnghēng Yínháng) is Hong Kong's sixth biggest bank by total assets. In Macau it is known as Banco Weng Hang S.A.. In fiscal 2003, the bank had total assets of HK$89 billion, and net profits of HK$864 million.

History

The bank was founded in 1937 in Guangzhou, and opened its first branch in Macau in 1941. It was incorporated as a banking company in 1960.

Irving Trust acquired a majority stake in 1973, but when Irving Trust merged with Bank of New York in 1988, the latter gradually started to sell down its stake in Wing Hang. As of 2005, the Bank of New York owns 20% of Wing Hang Bank.

Wing Hang acquired Chekiang First Bank in 2003 for HK$4.8 billion. At the time, Wing Hang had 27 branches in Hong Kong and 11 branches in Macau through its Macau subsidiary. It also had a branch office in Shenzhen and representative offices in Guangzhou and Shanghai. As of 31 December, 2002, Wing Hang had total assets of HK$57.1 billion.

Chekiang First Bank traced its origins back to the founding in 1907 of the Chekiang Provincial and Industrial Bank. In 1922 Li Meng converted the bank's Shanghai branch into the Chekiang Industrial Bank and became its director. In 1950, the bank was re-established in Hong Kong as Chekiang First Bank of Commerce. In 1962, Japan's Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank (now the Mizuho Corporate Bank), acquired a 30% stake in the bank, a stake that eventually it increased to 95%. At the time of the merger with Wing Hang, Chekiang First Bank had 17 branches in Hong Kong, a wholly-owned subsidiary in Luxembourg, an agency in San Francisco and a representative office in Shanghai. As of 31 December, 2002, Chekiang First had total assets of HK$27.8 billion. Wing Hang subsequent re-branded all services under the Wing Hang brand.

References

* Feng, Bangyan; (2002). A Century of Hong Kong Financial Development. Joint Publishing Hong Kong. ISBN 962-04-2129-9.

External links

* [http://www.whbhk.com Official site]