The bank was originally founded by means of the joint Franco-Russian capital with its headquarter in Petersburg, Russia. It opened its Tianjin Branch next year in 1896, mainly dealing with the Chinese tax affairs and issuing Rubles to aid its speculative transactions in China. It was closed in 1926.
Originally built in 1910, the former business building of the Branch is located at 121 North Jiefang Road, Heping District. It has been regarded as the heritage site under city protection and the special protection historic architecture in Tianjin. Now, the building is used by The People’s Bank of China, covering an area of about 700 square meters, and about 2900 square meters in floor area.
This two-storied brick-wood structure was designed classically in a typical Russian style, yellow-faced walls, arched windows accompanied with the pedimental windows and curving corners along with huge helmet-shaped roof. The interior decorations have been regarded to be the most elegant and a lot of wooden works have been preserved quite well till now.
