Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China , Chartered Bank

The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, known from 1956 as The Chartered Bank, was established by Royal Charter in 1853. It was an overseas exchange bank, based in and controlled from the City of London. It was established to take advantage of the end of the East India Company's monopoly in 1853.

The bank operated in India and throughout the Far East - in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Siam [Thailand], Burma [Myanmar], Singapore, Malacca, Penang and the Malay States, the Philippines, Japan, Java, Sumatra, Ceylon [Sri Lanka], North Borneo, Brunei, Sarawak, Pakistan and East Pakistan. There were also branches in New York [United States of America] and Hamburg [Germany]. Despite its name, the bank never operated in Australia.

Further UK branches opened in Manchester (1937) and Liverpool (1948). The bank gained a second London office and additional branches in India, Pakistan, China and Ceylon with the takeover in 1938 of the P and O Banking Corporation Limited.

The bank's activities in the Far East were severely disrupted by World War Two and nationalist post-war governments in the region. The takeover in 1957 of rival Eastern Bank Limited presented new opportunities. Eastern Bank was active in Chartered Bank's traditional areas of operation, but also had branches in the Middle East - in Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, Lebanon, Qatar, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Oman. In the same year, Chartered Bank purchased the Ionian Bank's interests in Cyprus.

The bank operated from various City of London addresses: 1852 first two meetings of directors at 8 Austin Friars; November 1852 offices acquired at 21 Moorgate. December 1853-1855 rented offices at South Sea House, Threadneedle Street. 1855 rented offices at 34 Gresham House, Old Broad Street. June 1857-1866 rented offices in the City Bank building at Threadneedle Street. 1867 Former Hatton Court building on Threadneedle Street. In 1909 they moved into newly built premises on the former site of Crosby Hall where they were still at the time of the merger with Standard Bank in 1969 to form Standard Chartered Bank.

The prospectus, published on 9 October 1852, declared that the bank was to be established by subscription and that the capital to be raised was to amount to 'one million sterling' which was to be raised by 'fifty thousand shares of £20 each'. By 28 October 1852 32,000 shares had been allocated and the date of settlement on the stock exchange was fixed for 13 December 1852; as per a clause in the Charter the deed of settlement was required to be executed by all shareholders before a certificate to commence business would be issued by the Treasury thus in 1857 a small number of early script certificates were forfeited. All directors had to be shareholders of at least 100 shares.