HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational investment bank and financial services holding company. It is the second largest bank in Europe, with total assets of US$2.984 trillion (as of August 2021). HSBC traces its origin to a hong in British Hong Kong and its present form was established in London by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation to act as a new group holding company in 1991; its name derives from that company's initials. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation opened branches in Shanghai in 1865 and was first formally incorporated in 1866. The company was renamed The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited in 1989.