It is the largest bank in Europe, with total assets of US$2.715 trillion (as of August 2020[update]). 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;[6][7] its name derives from that company's initials.[8] The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation opened branches in Shanghai in 1865[1] and was first formally incorporated in 1866.[9]