Wing On Bank

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Wing On Bank (永安銀行) was a bank in Hong Kong which collapsed in 1986. It was majority owned by Wing On Holdings, listed vehicle 68.8% controlled by the Kwok family.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Collapse

The bank collapsed in 1986 when its auditors had qualified the 1985 accounts on fundamental uncertainty,[1] and its shareholders voted against a special resolution on capital injection of HK$154 million.

The Hang Seng Bank stepped in and bailed out the lender with a cash injection of HK$150 million in December 1985.[2]

Hang Seng assumed management control of the failed bank in June 1986, injected a total of HK$330 million,[3] and rapidly returned it to profit. A number of unprofitable branches were closed down.[3] The injection was transformed into a 50.3% stake,[2] which was sold on.

Legislative council approved an appropriation of HK$10 million to investigate possible criminal acts which may have caused the collapse of this and two other institutions.[4] The Commercial Crime Bureau was brought in, and investigators established the bank had collapsed on doubtful loans of $275 million relating to the personal affairs of Albert Kwok the General Manager, who died in April 1986.[3]

Dah Sing Bank became the eventual owners of the bank.

[edit] References

  1. ^ $154m rights issue may be rejected, The Standard, May 27, 1986
  2. ^ a b K. C. Ching, Bank buyer found - but not named, The Standard, April 30, 1987
  3. ^ a b c Financial Editor, 'Closed' signs at three Wing On branches, South China Morning Post, January 04, 1987
  4. ^ $636m write-offs amid attacks on 'speculation, The Standard, October 09, 1986

[edit] See also


 This article about a Hong Kong corporation or company is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
 Asian bank-related is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Languages