The Yokohama Specie Bank Limited Speech of the President in 1933

The Yokohama Specie Bank Limited


Speech of Mr. Kenji Kodama, President, To The Shareholders On  Ordinary General Meeting Saturday, 9th September, 1933

YSB President Kodama Kenji (March 1922 – September 1936)

Published: Yokohama, Japan, 1933

 

From the text of the speech at the meeting of shareholders: “… I shall, following the time-honored practice, have much pleasure in briefly reviewing the aspect of economic affairs at home and abroad.  …”

 

The speech discusses the Economic and political conditions and review the general conditions prevailing in those countries where the bank has offices or branches … Taking the United States first …, Turning to a review of the economic conditions of Europe and dealing with England first …, Germany, Denmark, Argentina, to Egypt, Australia, the East and to British India, Burma, Malaya, Dutch East Indies, Philippine Islands, China, Hongkong, Manchukuo, and etc.

 

A fascinating look at the prevailing conditions of numerous countries throughout the world and how they relate to the Yokohama Specie Bank in 1933.

 

Balance sheet of Liabilities and Assets, 30th June, 1933, printed on verso of rear cover.

 

With the author’s “With Mr. K. Kodama’s Compliments” slip laid into the book

The book measures 6 x 8 ½ inches, features a stapled binding, printed wrappers, and 78 pages. This is a rare record of economic history, absent from the trade.

           横濱正金銀行 - 京平松江銀貳両正 - 北京支店 - 清光緖年間

The Yokohama Specie Bank 

The Yokohama Specie Bank (横濱正金銀行, Yokohama Shōkin Ginkō; YSB) was a Japanese bank founded in Yokohama in 1880, which dominated the Japanese market for trade finance in subsequent decades. It has been described as a "quasi-governmental exchange bank that was the overseas financial agent of the Japanese government".

 

During the 1920s, the YSB accounted for nearly 50 percent of foreign exchange transactions for Japanese exports and imports, and in 1929, it was Japan's largest and most profitable bank, aside from the Bank of Japan. It also played a significant role in Japanese colonial ventures, not least in Manchuria and elsewhere in China.

 

In 1946, following the loss of Japan's overseas possessions, the Yokohama Specie Bank was reorganized and rebranded as the Bank of Tokyo (東京銀行), a predecessor of MUFG Bank (三菱日聯銀行).

Former head office building in Yokohama, designed by architect Tsumaki Yorinaka and completed in 1904;[1] since 1967, the seat of the

Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History

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