一、引言1840年爆发的鸦片战争,可以说把中国原来的对外贸易体制彻底破坏,于广州设立的行商制度和其他所有管制性措施一扫而空,战后中国还须割让香港及开放五个港口城市。对于英商来说,随着东印度公司的没落,自由贸易主义的抬头,中国新通商口岸的出现,对于为东西方贸易提供融资的银行业来说,出现空前的繁荣,不少新开设的银行应运而生。从下表一可见,最早开设的英资银行是丹拿银行(Agra& I. INTRODUCTION The Opium War that erupted in 1840 can be said to have completely destroyed China’s original foreign trade system. The system of traders and all other regulatory measures set up in Guangzhou was swept away. After the war, China had to cede Hong Kong and open five Harbor City. For the British businessmen, with the decline of the East India Company and the rise of free trade, the emergence of a new trading port of China presents unprecedented prosperity for the banking industry that provides financing for the East-West trade. Many newly opened Bank came into being. As can be seen from the table below, the first British bank opened is Agra &