Southern Three and Northern Four Banks (Nánsānháng hé Běisìháng 南三行和北四行)|Nánsānháng hé Běisìháng 南三行和北四行 (Southern Three and Northern Four Banks)

JI Zhaojin

The Southern Three and Northern Four Banks were the two leading private commercial banking groups during the 1920s and 1930s, the golden age of modern Chinese banking. Both groups adopted a Western banking-management style and helped support China’s modern industrial development until their decline at the outbreak of war with Japan in 1937.

The rise of the Southern Three and Northern Four Banks reflected the change of Chinese banking style from traditional