Banque Belge pour l'Étranger

It was originally established by the SGB in 1902 in Brussels as the Banque Sino-Belge ("Sino-Belgian Bank"), at the request of King Leopold II of Belgium.

The Banque Sino-Belge was created in 1902, as Belgium, like other foreign powers with presence in China, was entitled to payments from the Qing Dynasty empire under the Boxer Protocol.

[5] The bank immediately opened a branch in Shanghai,[7] followed by Tianjin in 1906,[6] London in 1909, Beijing in 1911, Cairo in 1912, and Alexandria in 1914.

[5] After the war's end, its network expanded considerably to Cologne (1919), New York, Paris and Bucharest (1920), Brăila, Hankou and Manchester (1922), and Constantinople (1924).

The BBE further developed its activity in Hong Kong, which at some point was the third-largest foreign branch network in the colony behind HSBC and Standard Chartered.

Like other foreign banks in China during the late Qing Empire, the Banque Sino-Belge issued paper currency in the concessions where it had established branch offices.

Building at Rue des Colonies / Koloniënstraat 66 in Brussels, head office of Banque Belge pour l'Étranger in the interwar period. [ 1 ] It was initially erected in 1909 as Palais de l'Expansion on a design by architect Franz Van Ophem [ fr ] , then repurposed in 1913 as Brussels branch of the Antwerp -based Banque de Reports, de Fonds Publics & de Dépôts (BRFPD), [ 2 ] and used by the Société Générale de Belgique (SGB) and the BBE following the BRFPD's acquisition by the SGB affiliate the Banque d'Anvers in 1919 [ 3 ]
Banknote of the Banque Sino-Belge (1907)
Former Paris branch building of the BBE at 12, place de la Bourse