The Russo-Chinese Bank (1896-1910): An International Bank in Russia and Asia

It was not only British and French banks that developed extensive operations in the Far East before the First World War for there were representatives from Germany and Russia as well as other countries. This chapter provides an account of a Russian bank that expanded into China at this time. This bank had a strong French connection, with a branch in Paris, and opened branches in both Siberia and China. What this reveals is Russia as a European power expanding eastwards, and this included China because of a common land border. To this bank the expansion into China was little more than an extension of its domestic operations unlike the other international banks that developed in Asia at this time. It thus operated more as domestic bank, accepting deposits and making loans, rather than being heavily engaged in the finance of trade and international financial flows.