The Oriental Bank Corporation (Chinese: 東藩滙理銀行), or "OBC", was a British imperial bank founded in India in 1842 which grew to be prominent throughout the Far East. As an Exchange Bank, the OBC was primarily concerned with the finance of trade and exchanges of different currencies.
Failed in 1866
Completion date from attached newspaper article.
The building had a distinctive tower on top.
Demolition date from article on page 12, The China Mail, 8th June 1933:
The million dollar building to house the new premises for the bank of East Asia, the work on which is planned to commence in late August or early September, will be situated on the site now occupied by the present Bank building.
The 1924 PWD AR gives the location as " ML 102, section A".
See attached newspaper clipping for opening date, and architect (Palmer & Turner).
The demolition date of 1966 is a guess, based on a 1966 photo which shows an empty lot where the building was demolished. By the time this photo was taken in the late 60s, a new tower block has sprung up in its place:
From the Bank's website:
The bank owed its origins to the business communities of the China coast in the 1860s. At that time, the finance of trade in the region was not well developed and most transactions were still handled by the European trading houses, or hongs, rather than by professional banks. By the early 1860s, local businessmen needed larger and more sophisticated facilities. In Hong Kong, in particular, business leaders required specialist banking services — preferably from a bank that was locally owned and managed.
The opening date comes from an article in the Hong Kong Daily Press, 1886-08-14, pg02, which reported the opening of the Bank's new building on that day. (Though to be 100% correct, the article notes that "although the Bank is being removed into it, the building is far from completed, and it will not be finished, at all events, within six months."
Other notes from the article:
