Greysheet Catalog Details
The General Bank of Communications (COM) was founded in Beijing in 1907 by the Imperial Qing Board of Communications. Chartered as a government and private sector joint enterprise, it handled government funds associated with shipping, railroads, and postal and telegraph services. In mid-1912, the English name of the issuer was shortened to Bank of Communications (COM), although its Chinese name remained unaltered. It became strongly associated with a clique surrounding Yuan Shikai, the first president of the Republic of China and would-be emperor, and in consequence was later beset with political problems, including a suspension of currency issues and, in 1921, a run on the bank. In 1925, the bank’s headquarters were shifted to Tianjin and in 1928 relocated again, this time to Shanghai. It became fully government controlled in 1933. From late 1942, it became an arm of the Japanese puppet bank, the Central Reserve Bank of China (B5601). Although it no longer has authority to issue banknotes, the Bank of Communications is currently one of the biggest banks in China, still headquartered in Shanghai. After the Communist revolution of 1949, its Taiwan branch underwent a number of mergers and acquisitions and now operates as the Mega International Commercial Bank, headquartered in Taipei.