Without a means of crediting and debiting accounts worldwide and the non-physical transfer of funds, the rapid global economic integration of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
would have been impossible. It is the globalization of the banking system, much of which, particularly in Asia, had its roots in the nineteenth century, that helped facilitate increased human
mobility, the exchange of commodities and manufactures, and the simplified transfer of funds.
This volume examines the origins, growth, and business practices of European banks in Asia, and the development of Asian (notably Japanese and Hong Kong) banks, and their operations on an
international stage, and in doing so, provides important new detail and analysis of economic globalization. It draws on the archival documentation of main British, French, and Japanese banks
involved and provides analysis from a range of historical viewpoints, including global banking strategy, monetary regimes, financial markets, international trade, labor immigration, and the
development of communication tools.
