Bank of East Asia
Hong Kong-based bank
The Bank of East Asia Limited, often abbreviated to BEA, is a Hong Kong public banking and financial services company headquartered in Central, Hong Kong. It is currently the largest independent local Hong Kong bank, and one of two remaining family-run Hong Kong banks, with the other being Dah Sing Bank. It continues to be run by the 3rd and 4th generations of the Li family.
It was incorporated as a publicly listed bank in Hong Kong on 14 November 1918, and officially opened for business on 4 January 1919, by a group of local Hong Kong Chinese businessmen who "not only understood modern banking, but the needs of modern Chinese business." Essentially, it aimed to serve local Hong Kong citizens and businesses who were currently underserved by the large British banks and small, unorganized, and often unincorporated local Hong Kong moneylenders. By the 1930s, BEA was considered the most influential local Hong Kong bank in the city.
History
Origins, and until 2008
BEA was co-founded in Hong Kong on 14 November 1918 and officially opened for business on 4 January 1919. The idea of a local Hong Kong bank to blend East and West, essentially by embracing the style of a Chinese, family-run bank but also adopting modern accounting and banking methods, came from Kan Tong-po (簡東浦). Kan had the necessary banking background but needed the financial support of the Li brothers (Li Koon-chun and Li Tse-fong) and the sociopolitical support of Sir Shouson Chow, who would become co-founders, along with several other prominent local Hong Kong Chinese businessmen, including Fung Ping Shan (馮平山).
While Kan later sold his stake in the bank in the run-up to Hong Kong's handover, the Li family's influence in the bank continues to run deep today, with Sir David Li (3rd generation) being chairman, and his sons Adrian Li and Brian Li (4th generation) being co-CEOs.
BEA expanded rapidly internationally after opening.
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