Banque de Belgique

The Banque de Belgique (lit. 'Bank of Belgium') was a significant bank in Belgium, founded in 1835 and eventually wound up in 1885 after experiences multiple episodes of financial difficulty.

Not to be confused with National Bank of Belgium.

Overview

The Banque de Belgique was founded by Charles de Brouckère on 26 February 1835 to partly offset the financial dominance in the country of the Société Générale de Belgique, which was not providing savings services to the broader Belgian population.[1] Adolphe Oppenheim was among the new bank's founding shareholders. Charles de Brouckère therefore presented the new bank as a philanthropic endeavor, in line with the savings banks movement. The two banks were in direct competition in some segments of their activity, including note issuance which was not yet a monopoly.[2]

Early on, the Banque of Belgique experienced financial difficulties. At the end of 1838, it suspended its activities, and subsequently opted to focus on savings management. In 1841, upon renewed financial stress, Jonathan-Raphaël Bischoffsheim saved the bank from bankruptcy by subscribing for ten million shares.[3]

In 1848, international financial stress led the Belgian government to grant the bank's notes legal tender status and to suspend their convertibility. In 1850, with the aim of restoring monetary stability, statesman Walthère Frère-Orban fostered the creation of the National Bank of Belgium, in which both the Société Générale and the Banque de Belgique were founding shareholders, after which both tceased to issue banknotes of their own.[4]

The Banque de Belgique once again went into distress on 1875, after having participated in financing failed industrialist Simon Philippart.[5] The bank was rescued by a consortium of the country's other large banks, but was eventually liquidated in 1885.

Leadership

Frédéric Fortamps was governor of the Banque de Belgique between 1973 and 1876.

See also

Notes
  1. René Brion and Jean-Louis Moreau (1998). The Société Générale de Belgique 1822-1997. Mercator Fund.
  2. "1830-1914: a young nation's coins and notes". National Bank of Belgium.
  3. Els Witte (2010), The Construction of Belgium, Brussels: Le Cri, pp. 145–150
  4. Paul Hymans (1905). Frère-Orban, Tome 1. Brussels: Lebègue. pp. 301–304.
  5. Marie-Thérèse Bitsch (2004). Histoire de la Belgique, de l'Antiquité à nos jours. Complexe.
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