The Hong Kong Bankers Club will close its doors at its prestigious Gloucester Tower location for the last time on Friday, leaving behind 40 years of memories as it moves to the nearby Nexxus Building.

The club’s relocation comes at a turbulent time for the banking industry, with HSBC’s share price falling below HK$30 this week: the lowest point in 25 years. Ongoing social unrest and the implementation of a controversial national security law has also rocked Hong Kong’s position as an international financial center.

“The club has walked through with us the glorious times of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s,” said Amy Yip, former DBS bank CEO and a frequent patron of the club.

“[The club’s relocation] marks the end of an era and we don’t know how the next chapter will turn out.”

The trade war between China and the United States, and sanctions ordered by Washington against individuals deemed to have damaged Hong Kong’s freedoms would have an effect on Hong Kong’s traditional role to bridge mainland China and the world, she said.

“The world is now very chaotic,” Yip said. “We don’t even know where to build the bridge or how.”

Yip first joined the club as an employee at Morgan Guaranty Trust, whose offices were located at Alexandra House, right opposite the site where Gloucester Tower was being built. She said everyone in the office was very excited, knowing there would be a bankers' club on the top floor.

Yip said she would miss the bar the most, where she used to “binge drink” with her colleagues after work.

The club has been forced to relocate after its current landlord Hongkong Land decided against renewing its lease, which expires on Friday. It is understood that the club’s new location will be in use from mid-November.

Formerly the Hong Kong Overseas Bankers Club, the club changed its name in 1995 to better reflect changes in the banking community, according to former chairperson Joseph Pang.

Pang said he would miss the current location but would accept that changes were sometimes inevitable. “The new location isn’t ideal but at least we will still have a club,” he said.

Joe Lam, a manager at the club for 23 years until his retirement in 2012, said the club had given him the best experience in his catering career.

“I am happy at work every day,” he said. “The club is like my home.”

He said he would join the members for a drink sometimes during happy hour and had developed a good relationship with them.

Click here for Chinese version.

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