United Reserve Bank

The United Reserve Bank was a Japan-supported bank of issue established in North China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It functioned as the central bank of the Japanese-backed Provisional Government of the Republic of China and, after that administration was reorganized, of the successor North China Political Council associated with Wang Kemin. The institution was headquartered in Peiping and operated from March 1938 until the end of the Japanese occupation in August 1945. The bank emerged from a crisis of confidence in the notes of the Bank of Chōsen. Japanese occupation authorities had previously circulated those notes in North China, but sought a locally presented institution capable of issuing currency and managing monetary operations in the occupied territory. The United Reserve Bank was created on 10 March 1938 under the authority of Governor Wang Shijing. Its establishment formed part of a broader Japanese occupation policy of building separate financial institutions in territories under Japanese control. Comparable institutions included the Central Bank of Manchou in Manchukuo, the Mengjiang Bank in Inner Mongolia, the Huaxing Commercial Bank in central China, and later the Central Reserve Bank connected with the Wang Jingwei regime. The bank issued its own paper currency, generally known as United Reserve Bank notes or lianyin-quan. These notes were intended to circulate in North China and were assigned the same nominal value as the Chinese National Currency, commonly called fabi. In foreign-exchange arrangements, the bank's currency was pegged to the Japanese yen. Its role therefore extended beyond ordinary commercial banking: it provided a monetary instrument for the occupation administration, supported local fiscal and payments arrangements, and helped Japan replace or compartmentalize currencies associated with the prewar Chinese government. The institution's currency also became associated with an unusual act of internal resistance. Some early notes depicted Confucius making a deliberately insulting hand gesture. According to the referenced account, the design was an act of sabotage by bank staff rather than an official ideological statement. Japanese occupation authorities eventually halted the issuance of these notes between the middle of 1940 and early 1941. The episode illustrates the tension between the bank's formal role as an occupation-backed institution and the complex political loyalties of its Chinese personnel. The United Reserve Bank did not disappear when the Wang Jingwei Government established the Central Reserve Bank during 1940–1941. Instead, it continued issuing currency and operating in North China, retaining a regional function alongside other occupation-era financial institutions. Although many employees were Chinese, the bank's senior executives, consultants, advisers, and foreign-exchange managers were predominantly Japanese, reflecting the extent of Japanese supervision over its monetary policy and administration. The bank ceased to operate with the collapse of Japanese control in August 1945. Its notes and institutional authority belonged to the occupation-era monetary system and did not survive the restoration of Chinese government control. In historical terms, the United Reserve Bank is best understood not as an enduring commercial brand but as a wartime central-banking institution and instrument of monetary administration in Japanese-occupied North China.

The United Reserve Bank was created within the Japanese occupation regime in North China during the early years of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Before its establishment, Japanese occupation forces had circulated notes of the Bank of Chōsen in the region. Confidence in those notes weakened, encouraging the creation of a separate institution that could issue a locally identified currency and support the financial administration of the occupied territory. On 10 March 1938, the United Reserve Bank was established under the authority of Governor Wang Shijing. Its base was Peiping, the political and administrative center of the occupation-backed North China government. The bank served first as the central bank of the Japan-supported Provisional Government of the Republic of China, which governed parts of North China from 1937 to 1940. When that government was replaced by the North China Political Council led by Wang Kemin, the United Reserve Bank continued to perform the area's principal occupation-era monetary functions. The bank issued notes called lianyin-quan, or United Reserve Bank notes. These notes were assigned the same value as the Chinese National Currency, known as fabi, and were pegged to the Japanese yen in foreign-exchange markets. The arrangement placed the bank within Japan's wider system of segmented wartime monetary institutions. Other occupation-backed banks of issue included the Central Bank of Manchou, the Mengjiang Bank, the Huaxing Commercial Bank, and, after 1940–1941, the Central Reserve Bank associated with the Wang Jingwei Government. The bank's notes also record an episode of resistance within an institution created to serve the occupation. Early issues reportedly included an image of Confucius making a rude hand gesture. The design was attributed to sabotage by the bank's own staff. Japanese authorities eventually ended its use between mid-1940 and early 1941. The incident gave the currency a symbolic dimension beyond its monetary purpose and demonstrated that the bank's Chinese workforce was not necessarily politically uniform, despite the institution's role under Japanese control. The creation of the Central Reserve Bank in the Wang Jingwei sphere did not immediately supersede the United Reserve Bank. The North China institution continued issuing currency and operating in its established territory. Its staffing structure reflected Japanese oversight: ordinary personnel were largely Chinese, while senior executives, advisers, consultants, and foreign-exchange managers were mostly Japanese. This division allowed the bank to retain a Chinese institutional appearance while remaining integrated into the occupation authorities' financial system. The United Reserve Bank operated until August 1945. Japan's surrender and the end of its occupation removed the political foundation for the bank and the currency it issued. The institution therefore disappeared as part of the dismantling of the occupation-era monetary order. Its historical significance lies in its role as a regional bank of issue, an administrative tool of the Japanese-backed North China governments, and an example of the parallel currency systems created in China during the war.

• 1945

  Operations end

  [1]United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org

  The bank ceased operating in August 1945 with the end of Japanese occupation and the collapse of its supporting political and monetary system.

• 1941

  Rude Confucius notes discontinued

  [1]United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org

  Japanese authorities terminated the issue of early notes featuring a deliberately insulting Confucius design, reportedly created through staff sabotage.

• 1941

  Continued operation beside the Central Reserve Bank

  [1]United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org

  The United Reserve Bank remained active in North China even after the establishment of the Central Reserve Bank by the Wang Jingwei Government.

• 1940

  Institution survives administrative reorganization

  [1]United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org

  After the Provisional Government was succeeded by the North China Political Council, the bank continued its monetary role under the new occupation-backed administration.

• 1938

  Bank established

  [1]United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org

  The United Reserve Bank was established on 10 March 1938 under Governor Wang Shijing in Japanese-occupied North China.

• 1938

  United Reserve Bank notes introduced

  [1]United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org

  The bank began issuing lianyin-quan notes for circulation in North China, with a stated value aligned with the Chinese National Currency and a foreign-exchange link to the Japanese yen.

A regional occupation-era bank of issue presented as the monetary authority for North China, while operating under Japanese supervision.

• Currency · 1938

  United Reserve Bank notes

  Paper currency issued by the bank for circulation in Japanese-occupied North China. The notes, known as lianyin-quan, were intended to carry the same nominal value as the Chinese National Currency and were linked to the Japanese yen in foreign-exchange markets. Some early issues became notable for a deliberately insulting depiction of Confucius, which was reportedly inserted by bank staff as an act of sabotage and later suppressed by occupation authorities.

• 1945

  Cessation after the end of Japanese ruleOther

  Background

  The United Reserve Bank depended on the Japanese occupation and the administrations established under Japanese protection.

  Action taken

  The bank ceased operating in August 1945 after Japan's defeat and the end of its control over North China.

  Aftermath

  The bank and its currency became part of the dismantled occupation-era monetary system.

  Source

• 1941

  Withdrawal of the sabotaged Confucius note designOther

  Background

  Early banknotes reportedly carried a rude Confucius image inserted by members of the bank staff.

  Action taken

  Japanese occupation authorities stopped issuing the affected design between mid-1940 and early 1941.

  Aftermath

  The unusual note design disappeared from circulation, while the bank continued issuing other currency during the war.

  Source

• 1940

  Continuation after the creation of the Central Reserve BankStrategy

  Background

  The Wang Jingwei Government established the Central Reserve Bank during 1940–1941, creating another Japanese-supported bank of issue in China.

  Action taken

  The United Reserve Bank retained its operations and continued issuing currency in North China rather than being immediately replaced.

  Aftermath

  The occupation monetary system remained divided among regional institutions, with the United Reserve Bank continuing to serve North China until 1945.

  Source

• 1938

  Establishment as North China's occupation-era bank of issueOther

  Background

  Japanese occupation authorities wanted an alternative to Bank of Chōsen notes after confidence in those notes weakened in North China.

  Action taken

  The United Reserve Bank was created in Peiping on 10 March 1938 under Governor Wang Shijing.

  Aftermath

  The bank became the principal monetary institution of the occupation-backed North China administrations and began issuing its own currency.

  Source

1. 1United Reserve Banken.wikipedia.org