Dangerous Business Models: Bankers, Bureaucrats & Hong Kong’s Economic Transformation, 1948-86

This paper reviews the banking response to Hong Kong’s industrial take-off in the 1950s and the transition to a service economy and regional financial centre in the 1970s. Adjustments to bank business models were frequently flawed, and bankers were prone to self-destructive behaviour. The paper examines how the Government contributed to this mismanagement and misconduct. It failed to match its regulatory policies to the changing economic environment, and it also misunderstood the monetary system. The analysis makes extensive use of previously unpublished data and government archives.

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