Banking failure and regulatory reform on the periphery: The Kwong Yik Bank in the British Straits Settlements

The Kwong Yik Bank (KYB) was the first modern bank formed by the ethnic Chinese in colonial Singapore, the capital city of the British Straits Settlements. Founded in 1903, the bank was short-lived, collapsing in 1913 after operating for a decade. Its failure prompted the British colonial authorities to impose stricter regulations on the finance and business sectors. Drawing on a range of little-utilised primary sources in Singapore, this article demonstrates how stricter regulations were not imposed in a purely top-down approach. Rather, they emerged through debates and negotiations between the colonial state and representatives of corporate and banking interests, with racial and cultural considerations subtly shaping these processes. These findings contribute to business history by highlighting the complexity of the relationship between banking failure and regulatory reform in a colonial and multicultural context.