Private banking in China began during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) when independent money houses were established to conduct currency exchanges, remittances, deposits and loans.

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), businessmen from the northern province of Shanxi founded a number of financial institutions that specialized in money transfers, and later expanded their services to deposits and loans.

In 1906, Shen Manyun, a wealthy businessman from Wuxi in Jiangsu province, set up a private bank in Shanghai in collaboration with the iron and coal magnate Zhou Shunqing. With registered capital of 500,000 silver dollars, the currency at the time, the bank targeted the general public and encouraged small deposits. It was warmly received, attracting deposits of as much as 7 million silver dollars at one point.