Van Lanschot Kempen
Dutch independent wealth manager providing private banking, investment management and investment banking services.
Last updated August 27, 2026
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Overview
Van Lanschot Kempen N.V. is an independent Dutch wealth manager whose history begins with the trading house founded by Cornelis van Lanschot in 's-Hertogenbosch on 22 July 1737. The business initially dealt in colonial goods across parts of the southern Netherlands and neighbouring territories. It gradually added financial services, including the collection and discounting of bills of exchange and foreign-currency exchange, creating the foundation for its later development as a bank. The company describes itself as the oldest financial institution in the Netherlands and the Benelux, and among the oldest financial institutions in the world. Today, Van Lanschot Kempen concentrates on wealth-related financial services rather than mass-market commercial banking. Its Private Banking business serves wealthy individuals, entrepreneurs, family businesses, professionals, executives, healthcare professionals, foundations and associations in the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. Its Belgian activities operate under the Mercier Van Lanschot name. The group also offers Evi van Lanschot, a digital savings and investment platform aimed at mass-affluent customers and people making their first investments. Investment Management, formerly associated with Kempen Capital Management, is a specialist investment-management business with selected strategies covering equities, fixed income, funds of hedge funds, real estate, small-cap companies and infrastructure. Investment Banking, historically associated with Kempen & Co, provides specialist services including capital-markets transactions, debt advice, equity research and trading, and mergers and acquisitions. The group is authorised as a bank by De Nederlandsche Bank and is supervised for market conduct by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. The modern group was shaped by a series of acquisitions and strategic expansions. Its shares began trading on Euronext Amsterdam in 1999. It acquired healthcare-focused CenE Bankiers in 2004 and Kempen & Co in 2007, bringing together Van Lanschot's private-banking heritage and Kempen's investment-banking and asset-management capabilities. Later transactions added fiduciary-management, private-banking and wealth-management activities in the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom. The Belgian business was further reorganised through the acquisition and integration of Mercier Vanderlinden, culminating in the Mercier Van Lanschot brand in 2024. Van Lanschot Kempen maintains offices and client locations in the Netherlands and Belgium, a private-banking office in Zurich, investment-management offices in Amsterdam, London and Paris, and investment-banking offices in Amsterdam, Antwerp and New York. It also supports cultural and sustainability-related initiatives, including the Van Gogh Museum, the Royal Concertgebouw and the Dutch foundation Stukje Natuur. Its positioning is that of a specialist, independent and sustainability-conscious wealth manager for affluent private clients and institutional investors.
History
Van Lanschot Kempen traces its origins to 22 July 1737, when Cornelis van Lanschot established a trading house in 's-Hertogenbosch. The original business traded colonial goods through Brabant, Limburg and adjacent areas. Financial activities developed alongside commerce: the firm collected and discounted bills of exchange for clients and handled foreign-currency transactions. In 1901, the partnership was converted into a limited partnership under the name F. van Lanschot. For more than two centuries the banking operation was concentrated in 's-Hertogenbosch. From the 1950s onward, the firm progressively opened additional offices, initially in the southern Netherlands. It acquired several Dutch banks during the 1970s and expanded into central Netherlands during the 1980s. The company began an international expansion strategy in 1991, the same year it opened offices in Belgium. The family-controlled character of the business also changed over time: National Westminster Bank became its first non-family shareholder in 1973 and later held a majority interest before selling its stake in 1994. Van Lanschot's equity securities were listed on Euronext Amsterdam in June 1999. The group strengthened its specialist-market coverage through the acquisition of CenE Bankiers from ING in 2004. CenE brought financial services expertise focused on the healthcare sector. In 2007, Van Lanschot acquired Kempen & Co, an Amsterdam investment bank founded in 1903 by Arines Johannes Kempen and Martinus Dirk de Lange. Kempen had begun as an independent stockbroker and had historical links to trading in companies operating in the Dutch East Indies. The acquisition connected Van Lanschot's private-banking franchise with Kempen's investment-banking and investment-management capabilities. The group continued broadening its wealth and institutional offering. It launched Evi van Lanschot in 2013 as an online savings and investment service for mass-affluent clients and first-time investors. In 2015 it acquired the UK fiduciary-management business of Dutch pensions and investment manager MN. It acquired the private-banking business of Staalbankiers in 2016 and UBS's Dutch wealth-management business in 2017. These transactions increased its client base and reinforced its position in Dutch wealth management. Belgium became an important part of the group's later development. Van Lanschot acquired 70% of Belgian wealth manager Mercier Vanderlinden in 2021 and the remaining 30% in 2022. In 2023 it acquired Belgian wealth manager Accuro, after which the relevant clients and employees moved to Mercier Van Lanschot. In January 2024, Mercier Vanderlinden and Van Lanschot Belgium were combined and rebranded as Mercier Van Lanschot. The group also acquired Hof Hoorneman Bankiers in 2021, extending its Dutch private-banking activities. The company's present model is organised around Private Banking, Investment Management and Investment Banking. Private Banking serves affluent individuals, entrepreneurs, family businesses, professionals and institutions. Investment Management operates as a specialist boutique with selected equity, fixed-income, alternative, property and infrastructure strategies. Investment Banking focuses on capital markets, debt advisory, research, trading and corporate transactions. The group is headquartered in 's-Hertogenbosch and has further offices in Amsterdam, London, Paris, Antwerp, Zurich and New York. It promotes sustainable investment and supports Dutch cultural institutions including the Van Gogh Museum and the Royal Concertgebouw.
- 2025
ING increases ownership
[1]ING Group's total stake reached 20.3% after the finalisation of an additional 17.6% acquisition.
- 2024
Mercier Van Lanschot created
[1]Mercier Vanderlinden and Van Lanschot Belgium were combined under the Mercier Van Lanschot brand.
- 2022
Remaining Mercier Vanderlinden stake acquired
[1]Van Lanschot Kempen acquired the remaining 30% interest in the Belgian wealth manager.
- 2021
Hof Hoorneman Bankiers acquired
[1]Van Lanschot Kempen acquired the Dutch private bank Hof Hoorneman Bankiers.
- 2021
Majority stake in Mercier Vanderlinden acquired
[1]The group acquired a 70% interest in Belgian wealth manager Mercier Vanderlinden.
- 2017
UBS Dutch wealth-management business acquired
[1]The group acquired UBS's Dutch wealth-management business.
- 2016
Staalbankiers private-banking business acquired
[1]The group acquired Staalbankiers' private-banking business.
- 2015
UK fiduciary-management business acquired
[1]Van Lanschot Kempen acquired the UK fiduciary-management business of MN.
- 2013
Evi van Lanschot launched
[1]The group introduced a digital savings and investment platform for mass-affluent customers and first-time investors.
- 2007
Kempen & Co acquired
[1]The acquisition added a specialist investment bank and asset-management platform.
Products and positioning
Independent specialist wealth manager and premium private bank for high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, families and institutions, with a strong emphasis on investment expertise and sustainable investing.
Private banking
Private Banking
Advice, portfolio management and broader wealth services for high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, family businesses, executives, healthcare professionals, foundations and associations. The service operates principally in the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland, with Belgian activities branded Mercier Van Lanschot.
Digital savings and investment platform · 2013
Evi van Lanschot
An online savings and investment platform aimed at mass-affluent customers and first-time investors in the Netherlands and Belgium. It extends the group's reach beyond its traditional private-banking clientele through digitally delivered investment and savings services.
Asset management
Investment Management
A specialist investment-management business, formerly associated with Kempen Capital Management, offering selected strategies in high-dividend equities, fixed income, hedge-fund portfolios, real estate, small-cap equities and infrastructure for institutional and other professional investors.
Investment banking · 2007
Investment Banking
A specialist European investment-banking franchise historically associated with Kempen & Co. Its activities include capital-markets transactions, debt advisory, equity research and trading, and mergers and acquisitions.
Belgian private banking · 2024
Mercier Van Lanschot
The Belgian wealth-management brand formed by combining Van Lanschot Belgium and Mercier Vanderlinden. It serves private clients and families and incorporates the activities and client relationships added through the Mercier Vanderlinden and Accuro transactions.
Marketing campaigns
- Cultural heritage sponsorship
Netherlands
Van Lanschot Kempen supports Dutch cultural heritage through sponsorship of the Van Gogh Museum and as a principal sponsor of the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
- Stukje Natuur partnership
Netherlands
The group supports sustainability-related activity as a main partner of the Dutch foundation Stukje Natuur.
Brand decisions
2024
Creation of Mercier Van LanschotStrategyBackground
The group consolidated its Belgian private-banking activities after acquiring Mercier Vanderlinden and integrating later business additions.
Action taken
Van Lanschot Belgium and Mercier Vanderlinden were brought together under the Mercier Van Lanschot name.
Aftermath
The combined brand became the group's principal Belgian private-banking platform.
2013
Launch of Evi van LanschotProduct launchBackground
The group sought to serve mass-affluent customers and people new to investing through a digital channel.
Action taken
It launched Evi van Lanschot as an online savings and investment platform in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Aftermath
Evi became the group's digital proposition for customers outside its traditional high-net-worth private-banking segment.
2007
Acquisition of Kempen & CoM&ABackground
Van Lanschot sought to add specialist investment-banking and investment-management capabilities to its private-banking heritage.
Action taken
It acquired Amsterdam-based investment bank Kempen & Co.
Aftermath
The transaction became a central element of the group's combined wealth-management, investment-management and investment-banking model.
Sources2 sources
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