The Joint Savings Society commissioned the building, and the Hungarian-Slovak architect László Hudec designed it. Design began in March 1931, and it opened on December 1, 1934. The style is Art Deco, strongly inspired by the American Radiator Building. The first three floors are polished black granite from Shandong Province, and the upper floors are dark brown brick and ceramic face tiles. It stands 83.8 meters (275 ft) tall.
The article says it was the tallest building in Asia from 1934 to 1963, and in Shanghai until 1983. The bank occupied the lower floors, and a hotel occupied the upper floors.
The government changed most of the interior in the 1950s. George Grigorian remodeled parts of it in 1997, and Christopher Choa restored the Art Deco lobby in 2001. It is a hotel today.
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