Société Belge de Banque
Société Belge de Banque was a Belgian commercial bank established in 1901 and absorbed into Société Générale de Banque in 1965.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Société Belge de Banque, commonly abbreviated SBB, was a Belgian banking institution that operated under several related corporate forms between 1901 and 1965. Its origins lay in the Banque Générale Belge, founded in Namur in 1901 as the successor to the banking partnership A. de Lhoneux, Linon & Cie, which had been established in 1859. The new bank experienced a difficult initial period, but its position improved sufficiently for it to attract merger interest during the First World War, including an approach from Banque de Bruxelles that did not result in a combination. A major expansion occurred in 1921, when Banque Générale Belge acquired the Belgian operations of Bunge and the Anglo-South American Bank. The transaction was structured as an all-shares exchange that made the acquired institutions shareholders in the enlarged bank. The deal also marked a shift in the bank's geographic center of gravity: its head office moved from Namur to Antwerp. In 1928, the bank received additional capital support from several Belgian financial and industrial interests, including Banque Philippson, Banque Lambert, Mutuelle Solvay, and Compagnie financière et industrielle de Belgique, commonly known as Finabel. That year its head office moved again, this time to 54 Avenue Louise in Brussels, a prominent building associated with Mutuelle Solvay. In 1931 it relocated across the avenue to number 61. The financial pressures that affected Belgian banking at the end of the 1920s and beginning of the 1930s led to a major reorganization. On 21 September 1932, Banque Générale Belge's operations were merged into Finabel. Finabel adopted the name Société Belge de Banque, while the former Banque Générale Belge entered liquidation. The institution therefore carried forward the SBB name through a restructuring rather than through a simple uninterrupted corporate continuation. SBB participated in further institutional development during the 1930s. On 26 January 1934 it sponsored the creation of Antwerp Diamond Bank. New Belgian banking legislation prompted another structural change in December 1935. The existing SBB was converted into a non-bank holding company, renamed Compagnie Industrielle de Belgique, and a new banking affiliate was created under the Société Belge de Banque name. In 1936, the SBB branches in Namur and Verviers were transferred to Banque de Bruxelles. In 1937, Compagnie Industrielle de Belgique was acquired by Union Chimique Belge, which consequently became SBB's controlling shareholder. Union Chimique Belge later sold that controlling interest to the Janssen family, associated with Mutuelle Solvay. By 1939, SBB maintained its Brussels head office and an Antwerp branch. After the Second World War, SBB expanded through the 1946 acquisition of Société Belge de Crédit Industriel et Commercial et de Dépôts, a Belgian affiliate originally established in 1903 by France's Crédit Industriel et Commercial. From 1948, the Solvay Group used SBB as its principal or home bank. The relationship gave SBB an important industrial connection, but the bank remained too small to achieve the scale its owners considered necessary. Solvay consequently agreed to sell SBB to Générale de Banque in 1964. The bank was formally wound up on 30 November 1965, at the same time as Banque d'Anvers, completing its absorption into the Générale de Banque organization.
History
Société Belge de Banque was a Belgian bank whose history reflected the consolidation, regulatory restructuring, and industrial alignment of Belgian finance during the twentieth century. It originated in 1901 as Banque Générale Belge in Namur, succeeding A. de Lhoneux, Linon & Cie, a banking partnership founded in 1859. Although its early years were difficult, the bank later developed enough capacity to attract merger interest. During the German occupation in the First World War, Banque de Bruxelles explored a possible combination with it, but the proposal did not lead to a merger. The bank's first major expansion came in 1921 through the acquisition of the Belgian operations of Bunge and the Anglo-South American Bank. The transaction used shares rather than a straightforward cash purchase, making the acquired institutions shareholders in the enlarged bank. The head office moved to Antwerp as part of this expansion. In 1928, the bank obtained support for two capital increases from a group of Belgian financial and industrial institutions, including Banque Philippson, Banque Lambert, Mutuelle Solvay, and Finabel. It also moved its head office to Brussels, first occupying 54 Avenue Louise and then relocating in 1931 to number 61 on the opposite side of the avenue. Economic and financial difficulties at the end of the 1920s and in the early 1930s led to a corporate reorganization. On 21 September 1932, Banque Générale Belge's operations were merged into Finabel. Finabel changed its name to Société Belge de Banque, while the old Banque Générale Belge was placed into liquidation. SBB subsequently became involved in the creation of Antwerp Diamond Bank, which it sponsored in 1934. The Belgian banking reforms of 1935 produced another division between banking and holding-company activities. The existing SBB was converted into the non-bank Compagnie Industrielle de Belgique, and a newly formed affiliate took the Société Belge de Banque name. In 1936, SBB's branches in Namur and Verviers were transferred to Banque de Bruxelles. In 1937, Union Chimique Belge acquired Compagnie Industrielle de Belgique and thereby became SBB's controlling shareholder. Union Chimique Belge later sold its controlling stake to the Janssen family, which controlled Mutuelle Solvay. Immediately before the Second World War, SBB's network had contracted to a Brussels head office and an Antwerp branch. In the postwar period, SBB acquired Société Belge de Crédit Industriel et Commercial et de Dépôts in 1946. That institution had originally been created in 1903 as a Belgian affiliate of Crédit Industriel et Commercial of France. From 1948, the Solvay Group used SBB as its home bank, giving the institution a close relationship with one of Belgium's major industrial groups. The relationship could not overcome the bank's limited scale, however. Solvay concluded that SBB lacked the critical mass needed for its long-term role and sold it to Générale de Banque in 1964. SBB was formally wound up on 30 November 1965, together with Banque d'Anvers. Its dissolution marked the end of a banking organization that had passed through several legal identities while remaining part of Belgium's process of financial consolidation.
- 1965
Formal winding-up
[1]SBB is formally wound up on 30 November, simultaneously with Banque d'Anvers.
- 1964
Sale to Générale de Banque
[1]Solvay sells SBB to Générale de Banque because the bank lacks sufficient scale.
- 1948
Solvay adopts SBB as its home bank
[1]The Solvay Group begins using SBB as its home bank, strengthening the institution's industrial orientation.
- 1946
Postwar acquisition
[1]SBB acquires Société Belge de Crédit Industriel et Commercial et de Dépôts.
- 1937
Union Chimique Belge becomes controlling shareholder
[1]Union Chimique Belge acquires Compagnie Industrielle de Belgique and becomes the controlling shareholder associated with SBB.
- 1935
Corporate structure divided by banking reform
[1]SBB becomes Compagnie Industrielle de Belgique, a non-bank holding company, while a new banking affiliate takes the SBB name.
- 1934
Antwerp Diamond Bank is sponsored
[1]SBB sponsors the creation of Antwerp Diamond Bank.
- 1932
Société Belge de Banque name adopted
[1]Banque Générale Belge's operations are merged into Finabel, which adopts the SBB name; the former bank enters liquidation.
- 1928
Capital increases and move to Brussels
[1]The bank completes two capital increases supported by several Belgian financial groups and relocates its head office to Avenue Louise in Brussels.
- 1921
Expansion through acquisitions
[1]The bank acquires the Belgian operations of Bunge and the Anglo-South American Bank through an all-shares transaction and moves its head office to Antwerp.
Products and positioning
A medium-sized Belgian commercial bank with an industrial and corporate orientation, particularly associated with the Solvay Group in the postwar period.
Banking
Commercial banking
SBB operated as a Belgian commercial bank, providing the general banking functions associated with a medium-sized deposit-taking institution. Its historical network included offices in Brussels and Antwerp, while branches in Namur and Verviers were later transferred to Banque de Bruxelles.
Banking
Industrial and corporate credit
The bank had an industrial and corporate orientation, reinforced by its acquisition of a Belgian industrial-credit and deposit institution in 1946 and by its later role as the home bank of the Solvay Group.
Banking
Deposit banking
Deposit-taking formed part of SBB's banking activities, including those inherited through its acquisition of Société Belge de Crédit Industriel et Commercial et de Dépôts.
Brand decisions
1964
Sell SBB to Générale de BanqueM&ABackground
Although SBB served the Solvay Group as its home bank from 1948, it was considered too small to possess the necessary critical mass.
Action taken
Solvay sold SBB to Générale de Banque.
Aftermath
SBB was absorbed and formally wound up in 1965.
1935
Separate holding-company and banking activitiesOtherBackground
New Belgian banking legislation required a change in the institution's structure.
Action taken
The existing SBB became Compagnie Industrielle de Belgique, a non-bank holding company, and a new banking affiliate was formed under the SBB name.
Aftermath
The SBB name remained associated with banking while the former corporate vehicle became a holding company.
1932
Merge Banque Générale Belge operations into FinabelStrategyBackground
Financial stress in the late 1920s and early 1930s made a corporate reorganization necessary.
Action taken
The bank's operations were merged into Finabel, which adopted the Société Belge de Banque name, while the former Banque Générale Belge was liquidated.
Aftermath
The SBB brand continued under the reorganized structure.
1921
Acquire Bunge and Anglo-South American Bank operationsM&ABackground
Banque Générale Belge sought to expand its Belgian presence and strengthen its institutional base.
Action taken
It completed an all-shares transaction involving the Belgian operations of Bunge and the Anglo-South American Bank.
Aftermath
The acquired institutions became shareholders, and the bank moved its head office to Antwerp.
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