Banque nationale de Belgique / Nationale Bank van België

The National Bank of Belgium was set up in 1850 as a public limited company (naamloze vennootschap) controlled by the Belgian government and based in Brussels. The institution maintains close ties with the Belgian government and the Ministry of Finance, although it enjoys a high degree of autonomy due to its legal personality.

The National Bank holds a number of core competences: discounting and acquisition of commercial and government securities, trade in gold and silver, granting advances on gold and silver bullion and coins, redeeming securities entrusted to the bank, taking into custody of securities and receiving money on current accounts, and granting short-term advances on (state-)guaranteed values.

The National Bank is managed by a board of administrators composed of the Governor and six Directors. Supervision is carried out by the College van Censoren, a Discontocomité and a Government Commissioner. Furthermore, the General Council (e.g. distribution of dividends and profits) and the General Assembly (e.g. election of directors and censoren, reception of the balance and the report of the Governor) also play a key role.

The institution is also exclusively authorised to issue banknotes, and it controls the mode and volume of banknote circulation. Since its creation the National Bank holds the function of state treasurer (Rijkskassier).

According to the Act of 5 May 1850, the institution was governed, on the one hand, by a Governor and six Directors and, on the other, subject to the supervision of a Board of Censors, a Discontrol Committee and a Government Commissioner. The statutes approved by the Royal Decree of 4 September 1850 contained a number of additional provisions and also defined the role of the General Council and the General Assembly.

The Governor of the National Bank was appointed and removed by the king. His appointment was for five years, but could be renewed indefinitely. He had to keep his residence in Brussels. The Governor chaired the Board of Directors, the General Council and the General Assembly. He had to have their decisions implemented.

The six directors were elected by the General Assembly for six years. Each year, one of the directors had to leave office on 1 January (in an order determined by drawing in 1854). Like the Governor, they were eligible for re-election and obliged to keep their residence in Brussels.

Together, the Governor and the six directors formed the Board of Directors. It ruled on all matters, subject to the exceptions provided for by law, the statutes or the internal order regulations. The Board of Directors had to close the balance sheet every year and submit it to the Board of Censors. If the latter refused to approve the balance sheet, the General Assembly had to decide.

The Board of Censors was composed of seven members, who had to appoint a treasurer and a secretary. The censors were elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term. The Board of Censors had to meet at least once a month. The censors had to examine and approve the balance sheet and vote on the expenditure budget.

The Governor, directors and censors together formed the General Council. It had to meet at least once a month to take note of the institution's situation.

The Discontrol Committee was composed of a minimum of three members appointed by the General Council and chaired by a director. It was reconstituted every six months. The Discontrol Committee was required to meet every day, except Sundays and public holidays. It examined securities and proposed to the administration the adoption of those that met the required conditions. The amendment of 1872 stipulated that the Disconto Committee would henceforth consist of two sections with a minimum of three members each and that each section would be chaired by a director.

There was also the General Meeting of all shareholders. This had to meet annually on the last Monday of February to take note of the balance sheet and to hear the Governor's report, and on the third Monday of December to elect the directors and censors. The General Assembly could also meet exceptionally when the Board of Directors deemed it necessary. This was mandatory even when the convocation was requested by the Board of Censors or by 20 shareholders or when the number of directors or censors was reduced to four.

Furthermore, the Government Commissioner possessed the right to take note of the state of affairs at any time and to verify the documents and the cash. When he deemed it necessary, he could participate in all councils and committees and the General Assembly in an advisory capacity. The amendment to the statutes made in 1900 would provide that the Government Commissioner was henceforth also authorised to supervise the investment of the available funds of the Treasury.

The new internal rules of procedure promulgated in 1907 listed a Secretariat Department, a Main Treasury Department, a Discount Department, a Portfolio Department, a General Accounting Department, a General Inspection and State Cashier Department, a Closed Custody and Sovereign Funds Department, an Open Custody Department and a Notes Department.

The National Bank of Belgium built a network of agencies and discount offices, which had different legal character.

The agents were in charge of managing the national treasury and were public accountants, subject to the supervision of the Court of Audit and appointed in that function by the King on the proposal of the Board of Directors. The discount offices, in turn, were private-law associations. Over time, the agents would also take on discount orders, making them not only agents of the Treasury but also agents of the bank. The agencies were established in the main towns of the judicial districts and gradually expanded with additional branches. It also expanded its network of its own offices. Cooperation between these agencies and offices was gradually developed. The larger discount offices in Brussels, Antwerp and (until 1882) Ghent were supported by local discount committees, which had to supervise all transactions and signal any lending irregularities.

For more detailed information, see here.

Detailed information, see here.

The headquarters of the National Bank were located in the centre of Brussels from the time of its foundation in 1850: first in some purchased premises at the corner of Rue Royale and Rue des Apricots (today Rue de la Monnaie), from 1868 in a new building on Rue du Bois Sauvage. This building would be extended as early as 1881 with a wing on rue de Berlaimont and a wing on rue de la Bank, creating an impressive complex of buildings.

The various archive series were kept in the premises of the various departments of the National Bank until after World War II. They moved with these departments in 1868 from the buildings at the corner of Rue Royale and Rue Apricot (today's Rue de la Monnaie) to the new building complex on Rue du Bois Sauvage. This may explain some of the gaps observed However, it is not clear whether the archives of the National Bank of Belgium were transferred to London during World War I or remained in Brussels, occupied by German troops. Nor is it known whether (part of) the archive was moved to Mont-de-Marsan in southern France for several months together with the institution's administration at the outbreak of World War II. After World War II, the archives were transferred by the various departments to the institution's newly established archives department and kept in an annex to the bank. Most of the archival documents were deposited by the National Bank of Belgium in 1963 to the General State Archives in fulfilment of the contract of 12 September 1962. As a result of this deposit, both the Kingdom's General Archives and the National Bank of Belgium's archives department drew up a brief transfer list, which lists the various series deposited by department. In addition, the archive also includes some records or series transferred at later times. Furthermore, the minutes of the Board of Directors from the period from 1 June 1909 to 23 September 1913, already mentioned in the 1962 contract but not yet transferred in practice, were not to be transferred to the State Archives until 1978. Concise transfer lists were also prepared for both these depositories.

The extent of this archive is 362 linear meters.

In this fonds we note a number of relevant series. The series of card indexes relating to various legal types of companies, kept as documentation, are relevant for economic history. See the card indexes for Personenvennootschappen met Beperkte Aansprakelijkheid (nos. 2004-2103, years 1920-1957), Naamloze Vennootschappen (nos. 2104-2156, years 1880-1957), and Coöperatieve Vennootschappen (nos. 2157-2176, years 1900-1957). The index cards refer to the information on the respective companies, published in the attachments of the Belgisch Staatsblad / Moniteur belge. The card indexes are ordered alphabetically and thematically (e.g. banks, insurance companies etc.). We also note i.a. the card index “NV’s onder Duitse controle tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog” (companies under German control during the Second World War) – see no. 2156. (This fonds is indirectly related to the Jewish population.)

G. Leloup, Inventaris van het archief van de Nationale Bank van België, I 421, Brussel, ARA-AGR, 2008.