Banque Industrielle de Chine
The Banque Industrielle de Chine (BIC, "Industrial Bank of China"; ) was a French bank with its main activities in China and French Indochina. It was created in 1913, expanded rapidly, but closed in 1921 because of the political context in China, causing a political controversy in France. Its activity was continued by the Franco-Chinese Bank, in China until the 1950s and in Indochina until the 1970s. Background From the late 19th century, the Banque de l'Indochine was tasked by the French government to support French commercial, industrial and strategic interests in China, but its conservative stance elicited frustration in French official circles. It was perceived in contrast to the greater dynamism of its British and German counterparts, especially the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank. In an internal Foreign Ministry note of , diplomat Philippe Berthelot, who in 1907 would become the ministry's head of Asian affairs, developed the case for a new institution that would take over the existing Chinese offices of the Banque de l'Indochine and finance accelerated French inroads into the Chinese market. These concerns became more salient following the 1911 Revolution in China, as French diplomats and political forces such as the Radical Party were eager to support the republican party, Republic of China, whereas the Banque de l'Indochine was closer to conservative and reactionary circles which did not share the same enthusiasm. In Beijing, Alexis-Joseph Pernotte, a banker who had lived in China since 1903 and had led the Tianjin branch of the Banque de l'Indochine since 1910, promoted the project of a new bank, and in July 1912 obtained a preliminary agreement from Prime Minister Lu Zhengxiang and Finance Minister Xiong Xiling that the Chinese government would support the venture and subscribe one-third of its initial capital. During a session of the National Assembly on , Xiong presented the future bank as an instrument of Chinese sovereignty against the so-called China Consortium of established foreign banks and their colonial powers, and referred to it as "our bank". Contrary to the other European banks in China, this bank had Chinese capital and was primarily focused on infrastructure development. Xiong emphasized the depth of the Paris financial market, which the bank would allow the Chinese government to access for its future borrowing, thus justifying the Franco-Chinese partnership from the standpoint of China's national interest.. Creation and expansion The bank was formally created in two consecutive assembly meetings in Paris, on and . In line with the previous year's agreement, the Chinese government owned a third of the bank's equity capital. From the start and until the closure in 1921, the bank's chairman () was Philippe's brother André Berthelot -who was chosen by both the French and the Chinese- and Pernotte was its chief executive. Businessman Charles Victor and a bank he controlled, the , were instrumental in the bank's initial financing. Victor's business ventures collapsed the next year, however, and the was liquidated in December 1914. The bank was incorporated in Paris, where its board of directors held its