Banque D'outremer Was Incorporated on 7 January 1899 Under the Name Compagnie Internationale Pour Le Commerce Et L'industrie

BANQUE D’OUTREMER (COMPAGNIE INTERNATIONALE POUR LE COMMERCE ET L’INDUSTRIE) S.A. René BRION and Jean-Louis MOREAU BNP Paribas Fortis Historical Centre Association pour la Valorisation des Archives d'Entreprises asbl / Vereniging voor de Valorisatie van Bedrijfsarchieven vzw October 2008 I SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF THE BANQUE D’OUTREMER The Banque d'Outremer was incorporated on 7 January 1899 under the name Compagnie Internationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie. Its initial capital was 32.5 million Belgian francs, divided into 65 000 shares with a nominal value of 500 francs. Numerous investment banks subscribed to these shares: the Société Générale de Belgique/Generale Maatschappij van België, for 9,420 shares; the Banque Léon Lambert, for 4,800; the Banque de Bruxelles firm underwrote 2,600 securities; Franz Philippson also took 2,600; Balser & Co., for 2,600; the Banque Liégeoise, for 2,000; Joseph Devolder, for 2,280; Jules Urban, Albert Thys, Georges de Laveleye, Jean Cousin and Hippolyte Lippens, for 1,800 each; R. de Bauer, Georges Brugmann, Ernest Grisar, Alfred Havenith and Alfred Simonis, each for 1,000 shares; the Caisse Commerciale de Bruxelles, Cassel & Cie, J. Matthieu & Fils, each for 800 securities. In addition, three foreign groups subscribed to the capital: a French group, allied to the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (12,000 securities); a German group drawn by Deutsche Bank AG , from Berlin (7,000 securities); and a smaller group of British investors which included the brothers Stern, Ernest Cassel and Sir Vincent Caillard (2,500 securities). The first meeting of the Board of Directors reflected the diversity of the subscribers. Joseph Devolder, Director of the Société Générale de Belgique/Generale Maatschappij van België, was appointed as Chairman; Jules Urban, a colleague of Albert Thys in the Compagnie du Congo pour le Commerce et l'Industrie, linked in its turn to the Banque de Bruxelles Group, was appointed as Deputy Chairman; Albert Thys himself, the true instigator of the new company, was chosen as the Managing Director; and Georges de Laveleye, one of his colleagues on the Board of the Compagnie du Congo pour le Commerce et l'Industrie, was appointed as Executive Director. We also note the presence, from the inception of the company, of Félicien Cattier, a Doctor of Law and Professor at the ULB (Université Libre de Bruxelles), well versed in matters of international law. The new company was not a bank as we would understand it now. The Articles of Association explicitly states that "the departments will be organised so that they only provide banking and cash transactions to meet the needs of the company or its subsidiaries, to the exclusion of all others". Indeed, its transactions were limited to those of a financial trust: "The company's objectives are to create, take over and develop commercial, financial, industrial, agricultural and forestry businesses, primarily overseas". The Compagnie Internationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie moved into premises located in Rue de Bréderode and Rue de Namur in Brussels, near the head office of the Compagnie du Congo pour le Commerce et l'Industrie. The public rapidly began to confuse the two neighbouring companies with such similar names that had been founded by Albert Thys. To avoid this problem, Compagnie Internationale changed its name to Banque d'Outremer. Within the first few financial years, the company was involved in numerous increases in the capital of companies linked to the Compagnie du Congo pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (such as the Société Coloniale Anversoise). The new companies that it helped to create included: Charbonnages Réunis Laura et Vereeniging (1900); Compagnie Internationale d'Orient (1900); Société Métallurgique Russo-Belge, Belgo-Canadian Pulp Cy, Société Italo-Belge pour l'Industrie des Sucres and Société Métallurgique de Sambre et Moselle (1901). Also in 1901, the Compagnie Internationale d'Orient was involved in the incorporation of The Chinese Engineering & Mining Co. Ltd, which took over the Kaïping coal mines. The Banque d'Outremer received a large block of shares in this new company. In 1903, the company went through a major crisis. To compensate for the devaluation of its portfolio, the capital was increased from 32.5 million to 22.5 million. The Board of Directors ordered major write- downs of the portfolio: To enable the shareholders to make a fully informed assessment of the balance sheet, the Board provided them with a list of all the fixed-term loans granted and all the funds, shares and bonds held in the portfolio. The report presented to the General Meeting of Shareholders stated that: "Our key concern was to evaluate the Bank's assets in a way that ensures there are no surprises later. We felt it would be wise to go as far as possible along this path, by pricing in, sometimes severely, all the unfortunate consequences that may be still experienced by certain companies that have not lived up to our II expectations or those of their founders". Another document from 1910, held in this collection, explains the difficulties encountered by the Bank in 1903 as follows: "all major financial creations must go through their childhood illnesses […]; it is unfortunate that Outremer's crisis coincides with period in which all our industrial, commercial and financial activity has been thrown off course. It is exacerbated by the scale of the [outline] programme and by the hostility that it is pointless to refer to in greater detail but which has resulted in particularly sensitive personal bitterness on Colonel [Thys]'s part, depriving him of the support to which he is entitled". This is an allusion to the opposition of the King faced by Colonel Thys in respect of the development of the Congo. The Group resumed its investments after the crisis, in particular in China. In 1903, the Banque d'Outremer backed the creation of the Compagnie Internationale de Tramways et d'Eclairage de Tientsin. Five years later, the "Thys Group", as it was referred to then, founded the Crédit Foncier d'Extrême- Orient and took a holding in the Compagnie Française de Tramways et d'Eclairage Electriques de Shanghai. But other regions of the world also caught the Thys' attention. In 1907, the Banque d'Outremer was involved in the formation of the Sumatra Caoutchouc Maatschappij, the first stage in cooperation with Dutch companies to exploit the colonial resources of the Dutch Indies. This cooperation gave rise, inter alia, to the Nederlandsch-Indische Rubber- en Koffie Cultuur Maatschappij. In 1909, the company helped to create the Banque du Congo Belge, founded with a capital of 2 million. This bank would take on the role of the Colony's National Bank two years later. In 1901, Albert Thys took over as Chairman of the company, while Emile Francqui, a director since 1905, became the Executive Director. As a consequence, the company's policy changed considerably. Firstly, it acquired new resources: its capital was increased from 22.5 million to 40 million francs. A large block of the new shares issued was distributed to shareholders of the Compagnie Internationale d'Orient, which would merge with Banque d'Outremer. In addition, at the prompting of Emile Francqui, the company launched itself into banking operations proper: to do so, the company acquired the services of Charles Galland, a former Crédit Lyonnais branch manager with significant experience of all lending and discounting transactions. The Bank's managerial staff was considerably expanded. The report for the 1911 financial year lists the principal transactions dealt with by the Bank and asks for the creation of fifteen-day and fixed-term current accounts and checking accounts. A safe-deposit-box gallery shown on the plans drawn up by architect Brunfaut was made available to customers. The Bank's holdings in Société Minière du Canada and Simkat (Société Belge Industrielle et Minière du Katanga) also date back to 1910. Also in that year, for the first time the annual report mentions the Agence Maritime Walford, the principal agent for the Anvers-Congo shipping line: this holding ultimately led to it taking control of the Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo the following year. In 1911, the company also created the Crédit Foncier Franco-Bulgare. In 1912-1913, the management of the company underwent major changes. Emile Francqui, appointed as a director of the Société Générale de Belgique/Generale Maatschappij van België, quit his office of Executive Director and was replaced by Albert Thys himself. He nevertheless retained his office of Chairman of the Board. In 1913, Félicien Cattier became the company's manager, while William Thys, the oldest son of the Chairman, was appointed Secretary General. These management changes did not prevent the company from adding to its portfolio of new securities. In 1912, it was involved in the incorporation of the Ostend company Lumière et Force Motrice. Furthermore, the Bank's internal departments were strengthened by the creation of a "financial studies" department, managed by Henri Fuss (formerly attached to the Comptoir d'Escompte de Paris). The war years were difficult for the company. At the beginning of 1915, Albert Thys, the founder of the Banque d'Outremer, died suddenly. Emile Francqui temporarily took over the reins of the Bank, despite his many duties for the Société Générale. Like every other credit institution, the Banque d'Outremer was placed under German control. From October 1914 to May 1915, there were four German commissioners in succession: Messrs Welker, Einhorn, Jacobsen and Weinkrantz. They were then replaced by Messrs III Behrens (June 1915-May 1916), Goldschmidt (May 1916-May 1917), Libbertz (May 1917-June 1918) and Sachs (June - October 1918). Bankers by profession, these commissioners monitored the Bank's transactions closely.

Load more