Standard Chartered plc is a British multinational banking[3] and financial services company headquartered in London, England. It operates a network of more than 1,200 branches and outlets (including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures) across more than 70 countries and employs around 87,000 people. The Chartered Bank began when Queen Victoria granted a Royal Charter to Scotsman James Wilson in 1853. Chartered opened its first branches in Mumbai (Bombay), Kolkata (Calcutta) and Shanghai in 1858, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore in 1859. The Bank started issuing banknotes of the Hong Kong dollar in 1862.