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| Home > Topics > East Asia > Gallery - The branches of Deutsch-Asiatische Bank |
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1906, the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank branch was opened in Singapore. |
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On June 16, 1906, Deutsch-Asiatische Bank opened a branch in Singapore. A consortium of thirteen banks – in which Deutsche Bank was a member – had founded Deutsch-Asiatische Bank in 1889 as a special institution for the East Asian market. Its head office was established in Shanghai, and a series of branches were soon added in China, India and Japan. The opening of a branch in Singapore was also considered, but first postponed in favour of Japanese branches.
Nonetheless, Singapore continued to have supporters, along with, above all, the expressed endorsement of Germany’s General Consul there. The city had been founded on an island at the southern point of the Malay Peninsula in 1814 as a trading post of the British East India Company. Starting from 1867, it was a crown colony and engaged in active trade relations, primarily with Hong Kong and Calcutta (now Kolkatta), but also with other key points of the British Empire in East Asia. Furthermore, Singapore was very important due to its extensive trade with Europe and America.
The new branch was directed by E. Schulze, who had gained extensive experience in the East Asian banking business in Shanghai, Hankow (or Hankou, now part of Wuhan) and Tientsin (or Tianjin). On offer were a broad range of banking services, including deposits, trading in equities, money orders and the buying and selling of minted coin. A standard reference work on the economic development of British Malaya published in 1908 detailed the important role in the future economic life of Singapore that Deutsch-Asiatische Bank would play alongside the English banks that had become established much earlier.
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| Entrance to the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank branch opened in 1971 in Singapore, at 138 Robinson Road |
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However, the geopolitical climate stood in the way of further development: the German and British became enemies in war in 1914. As in Hong Kong and Calcutta, the Singapore branch of Deutsch-Asiatische Bank was closed at the start of war and placed under regulatory supervision, which was followed by liquidation.
The German employees were placed into internment. The bank announced the closing of its offices as of December 31, 1915. In 1919, its building was transferred to Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which tore it down, together with its own directly neighbouring office building, and replaced it with a new building.
In the period between the wars, Deutsch-Asiatische Bank, although still present in China, did not return to Singapore. Thus it was not until October 9, 1971, that a branch of Deutsch-Asiatische Bank – Deutsche Bank had since become its main shareholder – was opened in Singapore, at 138 Robinson Road.
The city had undergone tremendous change in the period of more than five decades that the bank had been absent. Singapore had not only gained independence in 1965, but had also been able to quickly attract numerous foreign investors to the country. Several German companies had also settled in Singapore, confident of its economic and political stability. Already in the middle of 1969, the supervisory board of Deutsch-Asiatische Bank had examined the possibility of establishing a branch in Singapore. Although the city-state’s authorities were of the opinion that the market was already “over-banked”, a banking licence was ultimately issued in the hopes of attracting additional German capital.
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The customer counter of the European Asian Bank in Singapore in the Overseas-Union OUB Shopping Center, at 50 Collyer Qua |
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The second Deutsch-Asiatische Bank branch in Singapore, however, was only to operate for eight months until May 31, 1972. The reason for this was the “streamlining” which came with the foundation of European Asian Bank at the beginning of 1972. In order to fully contribute Deutsch-Asiatische Bank into the new European Asian Bank, Deutsche Bank relinquished the Singapore branch to its co-shareholder Dresdner Bank. Already that the same year, European Asian Bank opened a new branch in Singapore in the Overseas-Union OUB Shopping Center at 50 Collyer Quay.
European Asian Bank had been founded by a group of European partner banks but, following high losses in its lending business, was fully integrated into Deutsche Bank Group in 1986-1987. The new name Deutsche Bank (Asia) was intended to clearly indicate the change of ownership. However, this company name did not last long either. In June 1987 Deutsche Bank decided to reduce the overlaps in its business in Asia. Deutsche Bank (Asia) was merged into Deutsche Bank AG together with Deutsche Bank (Asia Credit) Ltd., which had existed alongside the European Asian Bank branch since 1978 as a one-hundred-percent subsidiary of Deutsche Bank in Singapore and conducted business as a merchant bank in the East Asian region. Due to its central location in Southeast Asia, Singapore was promoted to Regional Head Office.
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