Bank of Communications

In 1907, Liang Shiyi proposed the formation of a Bank of Communications to redeem the Beijing–Hankou Railway from its Belgian owners and place the railway under Chinese control.[8] The Bank of Communications was formed in 1908 and provided more than half of the financing needed to buy the railway.[9] The successful redemption enhanced the prestige of Liang's Communications Clique.

The bank's name uses the word "communications" to refer to the linking of two points by a means of transportation.[10][11]

In order to expand the business overseas, the Bank opened its first Hong Kong branch on 27 November 1934.

After the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949, the Bank of Communications, like the Bank of China, was effectively split into two operations, part of it relocating to Taiwan with the Kuomintang government. In Taiwan, the bank was also known as the Bank of Communications (Chinese: 交通銀行; Wade–Giles: Chiao-T'ung Yin-hang; Chiao Tung Bank).[12] It eventually merged with the International Commercial Bank of China (中國國際商業銀行), the renamed Bank of China in Taiwan after its 1971 privatization, to become the Mega International Commercial Bank.

The mainland operation is the current Bank of Communications. Following the State Council's decision to restructure the Bank in 1986,[13] the Bank was then restructured and re-commenced operations on 1 April 1987. Since then, its Head Office has been located in Shanghai.[13]

As of January 2005, 19.9% of the bank is owned by HSBC Holdings plc. An HSBC spokeswoman said HSBC and its affiliate, the Bank of Communications, would seek to acquire a brokerage to expand their operations in China. The plan was part of HSBC's broader China expansion strategy, but "there is nothing further to disclose at the present." HSBC's operations in China include its own banking operations, its stake in BoCom, and an 8% stake in the Bank of Shanghai. HSBC also holds a 19.9% shares in Ping An Insurance through its wholly-owned subsidiary HSBC Insurance Holdings. The South China Morning Post cited Peter Wong Tung-shun, executive director at The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, as saying that the acquisition is being considered in the light of the Chinese government's reforms of the country's securities brokerages. This includes a provision allowing foreign companies to get management control of brokerage firms. Wong did not provide a timetable for any acquisition or identify any acquisition target. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp is a wholly owned HSBC subsidiary.

In July 22, 2015, Bank of Communications sold $2.45 billion (about 14.93 billion yuan) of Basel III compliant bonds (convertible to preferred stock) “used to replenish the bank’s additional Tier 1 Capital.” The bond is registered on the Hong Kong stock exchange and pays a coupon of 5 percent a year.