Misplaced Pages

#488511

35-788: In the early 20th century, the Banque d'Anvers , the SGB's affiliate in Antwerp , developed operations in Argentina in relation with local businessman Edouard Bunge . In 1907, the SGB fostered the merger between two London-based banks in which it had acquired equity stakes, the Bank of Tarapacá and Argentina and the Anglo-Argentine Bank, to form the Anglo-South American Bank . In 1910 a separate institution,

70-511: A dual activity, as managers of its vast forest lands and as a bank, supplementing De Nederlandsche Bank (est. 1814) which was active in the northern part of the kingdom. Its first banknotes were issued on 3 March 1823. It also acted as fiscal agent of the royal government, for which it developed a network of branches throughout the Southern Netherlands (including Luxembourg and Diekirch ). Its branch in Antwerp , established in 1823,

105-613: A historical accident of the breakup of the Habsburg Empire . Although William I of the Netherlands refused initially on the grounds of the added expense involved in maintaining his own army, Castlereagh persuaded him by asking him if he preferred to be Prince of Orange or King of the Netherlands, adding that from a practical point of view the Belgian Ducal Estates amounted to a third of the country. William subsequently founded

140-693: A major congolomerate of industrial and financial institutions active in Belgium and the Belgian Congo . The bank pioneered investments in non-listed equity. The Société Générale went through multiple restructurings throughout the 20th century. In 1988, the Paris -based Suez Company took over the Société Générale through a competitive takeover bid. In 2003, Suez brought the Société Générale to an end by merging it with Tractebel, another of its subsidiaries. As part of

175-561: A separate holding entity, the Crédit Mobilier d'Anvers , whose equity it distributed to its own shareholders. Following World War II , the Banque d'Anvers absorbed other local banks, the Banque de Crédit Commercial in 1957, and the venerable Banque J. J. Le Grelle (est. 1792) in 1962. Even so, the Banque d'Anvers lacked critical mass in the context of 1960s Belgium. On 30 November 1965, it

210-533: The Algemeene Nederlandsche Maatschappij in 1822 in part to administer these large estates, while proclaiming the goal of increasing the welfare of the country. Upon contributing 28,108 hectares of forst land, the king was the single largest shareholder of the Algemeene Nederlandsche Maatschappij at its founding, the rest being subscribed by public and charitable institutions, other companies, and individuals. During its early years it had

245-473: The Banque de l'Union Anversoise , was created by the SGB and the Banque d’Anvers together with the Banque de l'Union Parisienne (in which the SGB was also a significant shareholder) in order to develop financial relations with South America. The Banque de l'Union Anversoise was eventually merged into the Banque d'Anvers in 1919. In 1911, the SGB, together with the Anglo-South American Bank and

280-461: The Banque d'Outremer and thus became a major participant in the economy of the Belgian Congo . Throughout the 1920s, its affiliated banks took over many formerly independent local banks throughout Belgium. By end-1930, it represented 32.9 percent of the aggregate liabilities and 31.0 percent of the aggregate capital of the entire Belgian banking system, and was a similarly dominant investor in large mining, infrastructure, and industrial companies. In

315-579: The Belgian colonial empire . The Société Générale was originally founded as an investment bank called the Société Générale des Pays-Bas pour favoriser l'industrie nationale or Algemeene Nederlandsche Maatschappij ter Begunstiging van de Volksvlijt ( lit.   ' General Netherlands Society for Advantage to the National Industry ' ) by William I of the Netherlands in 1822 when Belgium

350-513: The Société Générale de Belgique (at that time known as the Algemeene Nederlandsche Maatschappij ) opened a branch in Antwerp. A few years later, it decided to convert it into a legally separate bank (subsidiary), which became effective on 1 January 1827. At the time, the Algemeene Nederlandsche Maatschappij was a note-issuing bank, and issued special banknotes that could only be redeemed at

385-499: The 1930s, the Société Générale in turn absorbed all its local Belgian banking affiliates with the only exception of the Banque d'Anvers , then spun off the Générale de Banque as mandated by new Belgian legislation in 1935 while keeping controlling ownership of it. By end-1939, the Société Générale's share of the Belgian banking sector's total assets had further risen to 32.6 percent. By

SECTION 10

#1732875916489

420-399: The 2000s. This bank and insurance -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Banque d%27Anvers The Banque d'Anvers ( lit.   ' Bank of Antwerp ' ) was a Belgian based bank that acted as the affiliate of the Société Générale de Belgique in Antwerp . It started activity as a branch in 1823, became a fully-fledged bank in 1827, and

455-444: The Banque d'Anvers, in which his father held a significant equity stake. This bank and insurance -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Soci%C3%A9t%C3%A9 G%C3%A9n%C3%A9rale de Belgique The Société Générale de Belgique ( Dutch : Generale Maatschappij van België , lit.   ' General Company of Belgium ' ; often referred to in Belgium simply as "Société Générale" or SGB)

490-616: The Banque d'Anvers. During its first decades of activity, the bank had no capital of its own, until it was reorganized and capitalized in 1870, when the Société Générale de Belgique took up half of the shareholders' equity. In 1919, the Banque d'Anvers absorbed the Banque de l’Union Anversoise (est. 1910) and the Crédit Mobilier de Belgique (est. 1900 as the Banque de Reports, de Fonds Publics et de Dépôts , changed name in July 1914 ), which it fully merged into itself in 1924. In 1934-1935,

525-832: The Banque de l’Union Anversoise, teamed up with the Credito Italiano , industrialist Emmanuel Janssen , Bunge , and partnering businessmen to form the Banque Brésilienne Italo-Belge. It opened an office in São Paulo and soon afterwards in Campinas and Santos , then in 1912 in Montevideo and 1914 in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires . A capital increase in 1913 allowed the Banque Belge pour l'Étranger , another SGB affiliate, to join

560-551: The Générale de Banque's new head office downhill was reconstructed in several phases in brutalist style . The new SGB building displayed a long, symmetrical façade with a main entrance at 20, rue Royale. Following the respective mergers of the SGB into Suez-Lyonnaise and of the Générale de Banque into Fortis Group in 1999, the building was taken over by Fortis and used as its Belgian headquarters, then after 2008 by BNP Paribas Fortis . The following companies were once majority owned by

595-628: The Hôtel Wellington following a sojourn by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington in June 1815, just before the Battle of Waterloo . The SGB subsequently expanded to other adjacent structures. After the Rue Ravenstein / Ravensteinstraat was created in 1911–1913 as part of the construction of Brussels' North–South connection , the SGB's premises were expanded southward with a Beaux-Arts wing bordering

630-523: The Netherlands' AMRO Bank , Spain's Banco Español de Crédito , Switzerland's Credit Suisse , and the UK's Midland Bank . By 1992, WestLB had become a significant shareholder of BEAL. In 1998, the BEAL's seat moved from downtown Brussels, where it had been domiciled at the former Electrorail Building  [ fr ] since 1964, to a new address at Chaussée de La Hulpe 166. It appears to have ceased operations in

665-651: The SGB and Société Générale de Banque decided to demolish and rebuild the entire block, including the Petit Béguinage on the corner of the Rue Royale and the Rue Montagne du Parc, also designed by Barnabé Guimard in the late 18th century, which was razed in 1968. The new structures fronting the Rue Royale, designed by Pierre Guillissen  [ fr ] and Hugo Van Kuyck  [ nl ] in neoclassical style reminiscent of Guimard, were completed in 1972, while

700-553: The SGB's equity as part of its effort to secure majority control of Tractebel , while Fortis Group acquired the Générale de Banque , thus completing the separation of the bank from its parent entity initiated in 1934. By August 1998, Tractebel and Fortis together represented over 90 percent of the value of the SGB's holdings, the rest being mainly a controlling stake in Union Minière and minority stakes in SAGEM and ARBED . The SGB itself

735-403: The Société Générale de Belgique consolidated all its other local affiliates into the newly formed Générale de Banque , but the family shareholders of the Banque d'Anvers rejected that option and the bank thus remained as the SGB's only autonomous local affiliate bank in Belgium. The Banque d'Anvers only had to divest its relatively small portfolio of industrial participations, for which it formed

SECTION 20

#1732875916489

770-464: The country by creating a monetary issue department within itself. It remained secretly in contact with the National Bank in exile, however, and effectively acted on behalf of the latter; so that when Belgium recovered its sovereignty, the National Bank took over all liabilities and assets of the Société Générale's issue department, which was subsequently closed. In 1928, the Société Générale absorbed

805-598: The group of controlling shareholders. That same year, as its business had already started to expand beyond Brazil, the bank's name was shortened to Banque Italo-Belge. The Credito Italiano initially held a 40 percent stake. New offices were opened in London and Paris during World War I , then in 1920 in Santiago and Valparaíso . This network was complemented by a branch in Porto Alegre in 1952. In 1920, its head office in Antwerp

840-465: The immediate circle of the Board. By 1914, the Société Générale was by far the largest bank in Belgium, operating in conjunction with 18 affiliated banks in the country which it practically controlled. Under the harsh German occupation of Belgium during World War I , as the National Bank of Belgium had moved its operations and reserves to London , the Société Générale became formally the central bank for

875-528: The mid-1960, Time reported that the SGB still had control of "a fourth of Belgium's industry and half of the Congo's". In 1988, Suez secured control of the SGB following a hostile takeover contest with Carlo de Benedetti . The SGB was also from the start the largest shareholder of Fortis AG, the Belgian entity of the Fortis Group , with a 20 percent stake as of end-1991. In June 1998, Suez acquired 100 percent of

910-526: The new street all the way to what is now the Rue Baron Horta / Baron Hortastraat , designed by Jacques Van Mansfeld  [ fr ] . Meanwhile, in 1904, the SGB had acquired its first building uphill on the same block, facing the more prestigious Rue Royale/Koningsstraat , which it had rebuilt in 1908. In 1914, under the German occupation of Belgium during World War I , one of these buildings' rooms

945-571: The terms of the Treaty of Paris in 1814, the countries of Europe agreed to augment their armed forces from militias to standing armies. Although Belgium had been offered independence by the Prussians, Britain's Lord Castlereagh vetoed it on the grounds that the country was too small to be economically viable, and the question then arose of who should govern it, the Austrians having washed their hands of it as

980-527: Was an investment bank and, subsequently, an industrial and financial conglomerate in Belgium between 1822 and 2003. It has been described as the world's first universal bank . The banking element was split in 1935 and became the Générale de Banque . At its height in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Société Générale exercised significant control over large portions of the national economy of Belgium and

1015-544: Was converted in 1827 into a fully-fledged subsidiary, the Banque d'Anvers . Because the bank's operations were dominated by the profit-making interests of its private shareholders, it fell short of the aims the king had set for it in terms of fostering economic development. After the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the company took the French name Société Générale de Belgique . It sold off its land holdings at low prices to

1050-515: Was eventually merged into the Générale de Banque in 1965. In the 1920s, it was described as one of the most powerful banks in Belgium. Even though the bank was primarily active in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, for most of its existence it was generally referred to by its French name including in Dutch-speaking or English-speaking contexts. One year after its establishment in 1822,

1085-562: Was fully integrated into the Suez group in subsequent years and its legal existence ended in 2003, in parallel with divestment of the group's stake in Fortis. Immediately after its creation in 1822, the company acquired for its head office the former Brussels branch ( French : refuge ) of Averbode Abbey , at 3, rue Montagne du Parc / Warandeberg , a neoclassical structure designed by Barnabé Guimard and built in 1779–1781, which had become known as

Banque Italo-Belge - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-604: Was merged into the Générale de Banque, simultaneously as the Société Belge de Banque . As a consequence, it returned to the status it had in its origin years as a mere local branch of the Générale . In subsequent years, its head office building on Antwerp's Meir thoroughfare featured a sign that read "Generale Bankmaatschappij v/h Bank van Antwerpen", lit.   ' Générale de Banque, formerly Bank of Antwerp ' . Hector Carlier , founder of Petrofina , started his career at

1155-578: Was relocated to Meir 48, together with that of the Banque d'Anvers. By 1939, following successive capital increases, the Credito Italiano's stake had been reduced to around 12.5 percent, and the Banque de la Société Générale exercised dominant control. In 1974, the bank was renamed the Banque Européenne pour l'Amérique Latine. By 1977 the BEAL's shareholders included the SGB (with 25 percent) and Credito Italiano but also France's Société Générale ,

1190-577: Was under his rule within the United Kingdom of the Netherlands . After the Belgian Revolution in 1830, it was the new country's dominant financial institution and remained so even after the creation of the National Bank of Belgium in 1850. Its investments in the national economy contributed to the rapid development of the Industrial Revolution in the country and it soon emerged at the head of

1225-456: Was used for the Comité National de Secours et d'Alimentation ("National Relief and Food Committee"). Further properties on the Rue Royale were bought in 1922 and rebuilt in 1928. When the SGB spun off its Belgian bank in 1934, the Banque de la Société Générale de Belgique kept the storied address as 3, rue Montagne du Parc, while the SGB itself relocated to the Rue Royale. In 1966,

#488511