Federal Reserve Bank of China

The United Reserve Bank, also known in English-language references as the Federal Reserve Bank or Federated Reserve Bank and in Chinese as the Chinese United Reserve Bank, was a central bank of issue established in Japanese-occupied North China. It served first the Japan-supported Provisional Government of the Republic of China and subsequently the North China Political Council associated with Wang Kemin. The institution operated from March 1938 through August 1945, when Japan’s defeat brought the occupation-era political and monetary structures that supported it to an end. The bank was created on 10 March 1938 under the authority of Governor Wang Shijing. Its establishment followed declining confidence in notes issued or circulated by the Bank of Chōsen, which had previously been distributed by Japanese occupation authorities in North China. The new institution was intended to provide a more locally recognizable channel for currency issuance and financial administration while remaining within the occupation’s political and economic system. The United Reserve Bank issued its own notes, commonly called United Reserve Bank notes or lianyin-quan. These notes were presented as having the same value as the Chinese National Currency, or fabi, and the bank’s exchange arrangements linked its currency to the Japanese yen in the foreign-exchange market. In practice, the bank formed part of an occupation-era monetary network designed to support Japanese control, manage payments, and replace or subordinate pre-existing Chinese financial institutions. Its role was therefore political as well as financial: it provided a nominally Chinese institutional façade for monetary policy in territory controlled by Japan and its local collaborators. The bank is also associated with one of the better-known episodes in the history of occupation currency. In its early years, some notes carried an image of Confucius making an offensive hand gesture. The design has generally been interpreted as an act of sabotage by members of the bank’s Chinese staff rather than an intentional public statement by the occupation authorities. Japanese authorities eventually stopped the issuance of these notes between the middle of 1940 and early 1941. The creation of the Central Reserve Bank by the Wang Jingwei regime in 1940–1941 did not immediately eliminate the United Reserve Bank. Instead, the United Reserve Bank continued operating in North China and remained a currency issuer until the end of the war. It was one of several occupation-associated banks of issue established in China and neighboring occupied territories, alongside the Central Bank of Manchou, Mengjiang Bank, Huaxing Commercial Bank, and the Central Reserve Bank. Although much of its staff was Chinese, senior executives, advisers, consultants, and foreign-exchange managers were predominantly Japanese, reflecting the institution’s subordinate position within the occupation system. The bank should not be confused with the United States Federal Reserve System or with a modern Chinese commercial or central-bank brand. Its historical importance lies in its role as an occupation-era monetary institution, its circulation of specialized banknotes, and its place in the fragmented financial order imposed on China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After Japan’s surrender in August 1945, the political authority and currency regime that sustained the bank disappeared, and the institution became defunct.

The United Reserve Bank emerged from the monetary instability and institutional reorganization imposed on North China after the Japanese invasion. Before its creation, Japanese occupation authorities had distributed Bank of Chōsen notes in the region. Loss of confidence in those notes encouraged the establishment of a new institution with a more explicitly Chinese identity. On 10 March 1938, the United Reserve Bank was created under Governor Wang Shijing for the Japan-supported Provisional Government of the Republic of China. The bank was headquartered in Peiping and operated as a central bank of issue. It issued United Reserve Bank notes, also known as lianyin-quan, which were assigned the same nominal value as the Chinese National Currency, or fabi. Its exchange position was linked to the Japanese yen, placing the institution within the broader monetary arrangements of the Japanese occupation. The bank therefore combined conventional central-bank functions—currency issuance, payments, and foreign-exchange administration—with the political purpose of sustaining an occupation-backed government and its economic system. One unusual episode concerned early banknote designs depicting Confucius making an offensive hand gesture. The design was reportedly introduced through sabotage by Chinese employees of the bank. Japanese occupation authorities ended the issuance of these notes sometime between mid-1940 and early 1941. The incident illustrates the tension between the bank’s nominally Chinese institutional presentation and the authority exercised over it by Japanese officials. The establishment of the Central Reserve Bank by the Wang Jingwei Government in 1940–1941 created another occupation-backed monetary institution, but it did not immediately supersede the United Reserve Bank. The latter continued issuing currency in North China and remained in operation through the final phase of the war. Its continued existence reflected the territorial and administrative fragmentation of occupation-era China, in which several banks of issue served different Japanese-controlled political authorities. The United Reserve Bank belonged to a wider group of occupation-associated financial institutions. Comparable institutions included the Central Bank of Manchou, established in Manchukuo; Mengjiang Bank; Huaxing Commercial Bank; and the Central Reserve Bank. Together, these banks helped create separate and politically managed currency systems across territories controlled by Japan. The United Reserve Bank’s staff was predominantly Chinese at the ordinary working level, while Japanese personnel occupied many executive, advisory, consulting, and foreign-exchange management roles. The bank operated until August 1945. Japan’s surrender ended the political order that had authorized and protected it, and the institution ceased to function as a going concern. It is consequently remembered not as an enduring Chinese financial brand but as a historical example of an occupation-era bank of issue and of the fragmentation of China’s monetary institutions during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

• 1945

  Operations ended

  [1]United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org

  The bank operated through August 1945, when Japan’s surrender ended the occupation-era political and monetary framework supporting it.

• 1941

  Offensive Confucius note designs discontinued

  [1]United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org

  Japanese occupation authorities ended the issuance of early notes bearing the offensive Confucius image between mid-1940 and early 1941.

• 1940

  Central Reserve Bank created without immediately replacing the United Reserve Bank

  [1]United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org

  The Wang Jingwei Government established the Central Reserve Bank in 1940–1941, while the United Reserve Bank continued operating in North China.

• 1938

  United Reserve Bank established

  [1]United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org

  The institution was created on 10 March 1938 under Governor Wang Shijing for the Japan-supported Provisional Government of the Republic of China.

• 1938

  United Reserve Bank notes introduced

  [1]United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org

  The bank began issuing its own currency, known as United Reserve Bank notes or lianyin-quan, for circulation in Japanese-occupied North China.

A nominally Chinese central bank of issue operating under Japanese occupation in North China. Its institutional role was to provide currency issuance and monetary administration for the occupation-backed political authorities rather than to function as an independent central bank.

• Banknotes and currency · 1938

  United Reserve Bank notes

  The bank’s principal public-facing product was its own paper currency, commonly called United Reserve Bank notes or lianyin-quan. The notes were issued for circulation in Japanese-occupied North China, were assigned the same nominal value as the Chinese National Currency, and were connected to a monetary system whose foreign-exchange arrangements were pegged to the Japanese yen. Some early issues became notable for an offensive Confucius image reportedly inserted by bank employees as an act of sabotage.

• Central banking · 1938

  Central-bank and foreign-exchange services

  As a bank of issue, the United Reserve Bank performed institutional functions associated with central banking in the occupation-backed North China administration. These included currency issuance, monetary administration, payment support, and foreign-exchange management. The bank’s foreign-exchange arrangements linked its currency to the Japanese yen, while Japanese executives, advisers, and foreign-exchange managers exercised substantial influence over its operations.

1. 1United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org