2.
151
Last year there occurred the failure of the
Ng Wah Trust and Industrial Bank; in January of this
year the KA WAH Savings Bank Limited announced that
it had gone into liquidation and, very recently, the
Bank of Canton Limited and the National Commercial
and Savings Bank Limited of Hongkong both suspended
business. The head offices of all these banks are
situated in Hongkong, and, it is reported, have been
officially approved by and registered with, the Hong
Kong Government. The Bank of Canton and the National
Commercial and Savings Bank have, however, also had
branches established in Shanghai for many years nast,
transacting a very considerable amount of business
with all (kinds of) firms, and moreover both were
member banks of the Shanghai Bankers' Association.
As a result of the present suspension of business on
the part of one after the other of these banks, injury
has been caused to creditors and disturbance to the
market, the majority of those who have suffered losses,
public or private, being Chinese citizens. In order
to protect the interests of the creditors and to
stabilise the money-market, the Shanghai Bankers'
Association has already been repeatedly directed by
this Ministry (a) to make a prompt investigation of
the actual state of the assets and liabilities of these
two banks, and to issue orders (to the banks) to
deposit the whole of their assets at once with the
Shanghai Bankers' Association and on no pretext to
transfer or conceal even a fraction thereof; (b) to
realize these assets immediately, in order that they
may be employed in the repayment of the banks' liabili-
/ties;