Société Belge de Banque

The Banque Générale Belge (BGB) was established in Namur in 1901, succeeding the partnership (French: société en commandite par actions) named A. de Lhoneux, Linon & Cie, an earlier bank founded in 1859.

The BGB had a difficult start but its situation improved so that it received approaches for a merger under the German occupation of Belgium during World War I, including from the Banque de Bruxelles, which however did not materialize.

[1]: II That same year 1928, the BGB again relocated its head office, by moving to a prominent building erected by the Mutuelle Solvay at number 54 of the prestigious Avenue Louise in Brussels.

[2][3] That building was eventually demolished in the mid-1980s to be replaced with a postmodern complex designed by the Atelier d'architecture de Genval [fr].

In 1937, the Compagnie Industrielle de Belgique was acquired by the Union Chimique Belge (UCB), which thus became the SBB's controlling shareholder.

Building at Avenue Louise 61, head office of the SBB from 1931 to 1965, photographed in 1980 as a local branch of the Société Générale de Banque
Building at Avenue Louise 54 in Brussels, SBB head office 1928-1931