The Paradise Bank: The Mercantile Bank of India, 1893-1984
Alershot. 1999
Authors
Edwin Green
Sara Kinsey
The Mercantile Bank of India was one of a small band of British-managed banks which dominated Anglo-Eastern finance for most of the 20th century. Founded in London in 1893, the Mercantile inherited the business, branches, staff and even the distinctive cable address – Paradise, London – of its forerunner the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London and China. Although the Mercantile Bank was fully absorbed in 1984 by the Hongkong Bank (now part of the HSBC Group), its history, business and personnel remained an important thread in the traditions of the enlarged group. This history deploys the extensive and colourful archives of the Mercantile Bank, together with the memoirs of former officials and their families. The book is plentifully illustrated from the photograph collections of the Mercantile Bank and former members of its staff.
Table of contents
- Reprise, 1853-93
- Rehabilitation 1893-1913
- Resurgence, 1913-23
- Resilience, 1923-35
- Ready or not, 1935-47
- Realignment, 1947-57
- Reckoning, 1957-66
- Removals, 1966-84
- Review, 1893-1984