Hong Leong Bank Berhad (myx: 5819; stylized as HongLeong Bank) is a major public listed banking group in Malaysia.
History
Early beginnings
Hong Leong Bank began its operations in 1905 in Kuching, Sarawak, under the name of Kwong Lee Mortgage & Remittance Company.[2] The original company was founded by Cantonese brothers Lam Tee Chew (林子昭) and Lam Song Khee (林崧祺).[3] The company granted loans against the security of export commodities such as pepper, rubber and other indigenous products. It also provided the services of remitting money of overseas Chinese to their families in the Southeast region of China.
In the initial years, the company went through a difficult period of growth, caught in the middle of a few economic crises. The First World War broke out in 1914 causing panic in the financial circles. A few years after hostilities ended, the post-war Recession of 1920–1921 set in. After the recession, the company opened its branch in