Banque Lambert

A prominent member of the Belgian establishment and royal court, he was at times second among all the country's taxpayers, surpassed only by Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders.

He was main banker to King Leopold II, both in a personal capacity and for the Congo Free State, which earned him the nickname of "le banquier du roi".

[4] Léon Lambert and his bank also played a critical role in the financing and implementation of Leopold II's projects for the urban transformation of Brussels.

In 1876, they helped the king remodel the surroundings of the Palace of Laeken, and later on the creation of the (by then) leafy avenues of the Small Ring, the latter together with bankers Victor Allard [fr] and Georges Brugmann.

In 1899, it sponsored the establishment of the Banque d'Outremer led by Albert Thys, and was its second-largest founding shareholder next to the Société Générale de Belgique.

[2]: 2 [7]: 234  After Henri Lambert died in 1933, his widow Johanna (Hansi) von Reininghaus maintained the bank in activity but on a gradually reduced business footprint.

[2]: 2  During the dark years of German occupation of Belgium during World War II Hansi and her teenage son, named Léon like his grandfather and born in 1928, lived in Switzerland then in the United States.

In September 1951, Camille Gutt, after completing his term as first Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, joined the bank as partner, and played a major role in mentoring Léon Lambert until his retirement in late 1964.

He moved the family holding company which held a majority stake in the bank, renamed the Mutuelle pour le dévelopmement économique et financier, to Vaduz in Liechtenstein.

[15]: 193-194  The building was expanded in 1992 on the rear side in identical style, in line with sketches made by Bunshaft in the 1970s,[15]: 195  and has served since 1998 as the head office of ING Belgium.