After attending the launch ceremony of the new ship and visiting the shipyard, the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Delegation officially started the inspection tour in Qingdao. The East China government first arranged for them to inspect Bank of China.

In fact, this arrangement made many businessmen feel a little surprised because they thought that overseas Chinese would arrange for them to visit other factories, and no one expected that the first stop would be the bank.

Of course, at this time, Chinese businessmen were not unfamiliar with banks, because since the Qing Dynasty was opened, countries have set up banks in China to facilitate business activities in China. Moreover, because foreign banks have strong funds, standardized business operations, and high business credit, and are not affected by the policies of the Qing court, they have gradually gained the trust of the Chinese. Most Chinese businessmen are used to depositing money into banks, and even dignitaries like to store their money in banks, which can ensure safety. The most typical example is Prince Qing, who deposited more than 10 million taels of silver accumulated from his years of corruption into several foreign banks.

In fact, the Qing court gradually realized the importance of banks. Therefore, in 1897, Sheng Xuanhuai presided over the establishment of the first commercial bank, China Tongshang Bank, with its headquarters in Shanghai. It should be said that at the beginning of the establishment of Tongshang Bank, the Qing court reappeared accordingly, granting Tongshang Bank the privilege of issuing bank dollars and silver bills, and it could also collect silver treasury on behalf of others. Therefore, as soon as it was established, its business was extremely prosperous, and branches were set up in major provinces across the country.

However, during the Gengzi Rebellion, the Eight-Nation Alliance successively looted Beijing and Tianjin two important branches, looting tens of millions of taels of silver in stock, causing huge losses to Tongshang Bank. After the Gengzi Rebellion ended, its business gradually became sluggish and it closed several branches, which was no longer as prosperous as it was back then. Therefore, China's financial industry is still controlled by foreign banks.

However, although foreign banks are strong, they also have the disadvantage of low popularity, because foreign banks are mainly established by the power of various countries in China, and are basically distributed in cities set up as trade ports. Cities not set up as trade ports are generally not open, which has caused considerable limitations. Moreover, after the end of the Boxer Rebellion, the business development of foreign banks in the jurisdiction of the East China government was also greatly hindered.

Banks are important financial institutions in modern society and economic activities. They are also related to the country's financial security and stability. Time travelers come from modern society with a highly developed financial industry. Of course, they know the importance of finance to social and economic development, and they will not be subject to financial control. The establishment of the Bank of China is an important measure, and it also issued new currencies to further regulate the financial market.

In addition, it also makes full use of administrative means to support the development of China Bank. First of all, all government-invested enterprises, factories, and time travelers who start businesses all open accounts in China Bank. Bulk capital transactions are completed through bank transfers. Under the leadership of the government, some merchants from Tianjin and Qingdao also open accounts in China Bank. Soon merchants discovered the convenience of this model, without carrying a large amount of currency, and transactions are both safe and secure. Because there is a bank transaction record, it is useless to not admit accounts. Therefore, China Bank has attracted a large amount of private funds to enter.

Of course, banks are not allowed to attract funds just because the bank's income is mainly completed through loans or investments. Therefore, the next step is that Bank of China will mainly focus on fully carrying out loan business. However, with the economic development of the East China government, more and more time travelers are hiring in individual businesses. In addition, there are many local businessmen who are interested in investing in industries, and the loan business is still quite guaranteed. At the same time, the East China government will also invest in the construction of multiple factory projects, and there are also many investment opportunities.

While developing Bank of China, the East China government did not forget to suppress foreign banks. After all, it relied entirely on fair market competition. Even if Bank of China could compete, it would definitely lose significant benefits. Therefore, directly using administrative means is the lowest cost method. Of course, the East China government calls it a standardized financial market. First, strictly review the registered capital and taxation of foreign banks, and formulate bank regulations and unify interest rates. This prohibits foreign banks from absorbing funds through high interest rates and developing loans with low interest.

After this series of combinations, foreign banks have indeed experienced a sharp drop in their business. Except for a few large banks that can be free of support, the rest of the banks have closed down and withdrawn from the scope of the East China government. As a result, the East China government has basically controlled its own finances. Now, 10 prefectures and 2 prefectures in Shandong have opened branches in 10 prefectures, and the Tianjin branch was opened as early as the first time. Therefore, cash transactions can be carried out through banks in various parts of Shandong, which can greatly facilitate merchants and ensure the safety of funds.

The East China government led the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Group to visit the headquarters of China Bank in Qingdao. It is decorated in the old bank style, with a wide and neat lobby, a marble-paved counter, and is divided into two halves with transparent glass. You can see the work of the staff inside. Different businesses are handled in different areas. There are also seats, tea, and number-order services in the lobby. The people who come to handle the business are orderly and not messy at all. Moreover, the bank staff are uniforms and look neat, which makes all the merchants admire them.

Many businessmen even came to the counter and looked in through the glass. They saw that the cashiers behind the counter were all young women, with their hair tied up, wearing a dark blue body uniform, and a short skirt that was over the knee, which looked quite unique. Moreover, each person had a long table, and there were no drawers. All bills, silver, and account books were on the table, and the money was calculated in front of the customer. They could be completely open and transparent, and the cashiers were avoided cheating.

In this era, due to the lack of monitoring equipment, it is a considerable problem for banks to prevent staff from cheating. Because in the Qing court, the situation of self-stealing in custody was even more serious, and even the bank treasury of the Ministry of Revenue was stolen. The cashiers were the easiest link to cheating. In order to prevent cashiers from cheating, time travelers also spent some time, and the entire cashier was only the first layer of defense; the second layer of defense was the unified uniform. In fact, cashiers had to change a full set of clothes every day, and work

Uniforms are without pockets, so they cannot carry money; while the third layer of defense is a technical person who makes money every day. After the cashier gets off work, the cashier and bills received throughout the day must be counted separately. Only when the money and bills are consistent can the inspection be passed. With these three lines of defense, there is basically no big problem to prevent cashiers from cheating. Other links, such as statistics, escort, warehouse entry, withdrawal, etc., also have strict inspection systems, which can basically eliminate the phenomenon of jailing and stealing.

After a walk around the lobby, the Industrial and Commercial Group came to the conference room of Bank of China. The bank travelers introduced the development, business scope, management system, operation process, business model, etc. to them in detail. They also specifically stated that Bank of China will open a branch in Shanghai soon. Therefore, if a businessman in Shanghai invests in Shandong or Tianjin, as long as he opens an account in Bank of China, he can directly remit money from Shanghai to Shandong without having to bring a lot of money to Qingdao.

Of course, cross-regional bank transfer transactions require a certain handling fee, but compared with the risks taken by carrying heavy money, this fee is still quite cost-effective, because carrying heavy money will not only have another shipping fee, but also have to hire a bodyguard. This fee is by no means lower than the cross-regional transaction fee. Therefore, for merchants, this is completely acceptable.

This is of course good news for businessmen. Many businessmen also showed excited eyes, because there are indeed a group of businessmen who intend to invest in Shandong. If China Bank set up a branch in Shanghai, it will greatly reduce the cost of investment. Some businessmen with a wait-and-see attitude are also considering how much bank factors should be taken into account when reevaluating the risks and benefits of investment in Shandong.

Next, we also specifically introduced the currency styles issued by Bank of China and the ratio to silver and several other major currencies to merchants.

In fact, merchants basically know that the East China government issues currency on its own. It should be said that this is another good news for merchants, because unified currency is an important condition in economic transactions. Every merchant has been worried about the uneven quality of silver in circulation. The identification of silver color, color breaking, and re-minting are a considerable fee. Therefore, all merchants actually hope that the court can unify currency, so it will be much more convenient to do business.

In the past, China Tongshang Bank issued silver dollars and silver bills, but the issuance volume was too small and it was difficult to use them in full. The Chinese in this era generally had little trust in paper money. Moreover, after the change of the Gengzi Kingdom, the vitality of Tongshang Bank was greatly damaged, and merchants' trust in it was naturally even lower. However, the currency issued by China Bank was mainly silver coins, and the denomination of paper money was small, which was just a supplement to silver coins. This would certainly make people feel much more reliable. Moreover, China Bank had the East China government as the backend, so its guarantee power was naturally much stronger.

In the industrial and commercial group, there are Sheng Xuanhuai and Zhu Baosan, the founders of China Merchants Bank. After visiting China Merchants Bank and understanding China Merchants Bank's operating model, both of them couldn't help but feel emotion. On the one hand, they praised the overseas Chinese as having all kinds of talents. They can not only open factories, run industries, and do business, but also make it very exciting to run a bank. On the other hand, they also envy the strong support of the East China government behind China Bank, which is a condition that the commerce bank can't find.
Chapter completed!