National Bank of Belgium
Encyclopedia
The National Bank of Belgium (Nationale Bank van België in Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

, Banque nationale de Belgique in French, and Belgische Nationalbank in German) has been the central bank
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...

 of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 since 1850. The National Bank of Belgium was established with 100% private capital by a law of 5 May 1850 as a Société Anonyme
S.A. (corporation)
S.A. designates a particular type of corporation in various countries, mostly those employing the civil law. It originated in Spain during the 16th century. Depending on language, the abbreviation stands for various phrases meaning anonymous society, anonymous company, anonymous partnership, or...

.

It is a member of the European System of Central Banks
European System of Central Banks
The European System of Central Banks is composed of the European Central Bank and the national central banks of all 27 European Union Member States.-Functions:...

.

The governor of the National Bank is a member of the Governing Council, the main decision-making body of the Eurosystem, particularly as regards monetary policy; the National Bank of Belgium participates in the preparation and execution of its decisions.

Apart from monetary policy, the National Bank of Belgium takes on other tasks which can be classified as follows:
  • the issuing of euro banknotes
  • the printing of euro banknotes and the placing in circulation of euro coins
  • the management of foreign currency reserves
  • the collection, circulation and analysis of economic and financial information
  • the stability of the Belgian financial sector
  • the role of financial ambassador to international economic institutions
  • services for the Belgian State
  • services for the Belgian financial sector
  • services for the general public


50% of the NBB stock is freely traded on Euronext Brussels, the other 50% of the shares are owned by the Belgian government. (400.000 shares in total)

Governors of the NBB

  • François-Philippe de Haussy
    François-Philippe de Haussy
    François Philippe Louis Hyacinthe Joseph de Haussy was a Belgian businessman, liberal politician and civil servant. He was Belgian minister of justice from 1847 until 1850....

     (1850–1869)
  • Eugène Prévinaire
    Eugène Prévinaire
    Eugène Marie Ignace Prévinaire was a Belgian businessman, liberal politician, civil servant, and former governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1870 until 1877....

     (1870–1877)
  • André-Eugène Pirson
    André-Eugène Pirson
    André-Eugène Pirson was a Belgian liberal politician, civil servant, and former governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1877 until 1881...

     (1877–1881)
  • Alexandre Jamar
    Alexandre Jamar
    Alexandre Marie Auguste Jamar was a Belgian businessman, liberal politician and former governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1882 until 1888...

     (1882–1888)
  • Eugène Anspach
    Eugène Anspach
    Eugène Guillaume Anspach was a Belgian lawyer, civil servant, and former governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1888 until 1890. Born in Brussels, he was a convinced protestant.-Career:...

     (1888–1890)
  • Victor Van Hoegaerden
    Victor Van Hoegaerden
    Victor Van Hoegaerden was a Belgian businessman and governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1891 until 1905.-Career:...

     (1891–1905)
  • Théophile de Lantsheere
    Théophile de Lantsheere
    Théophile Charles André de Lantsheere was a Belgian Catholic Party politician.Born in Asse, De Lantsheere was a student of law, obtaining a doctorate, and practiced as an advocate in Brussels...

     (1905–1918)
  • Leon Van der Rest
    Leon Van der Rest
    Léon Van der Rest was a Belgian lawyer, businessman and governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1918 until 1923.-Career:...

     (1918–1923)
  • Fernand Hautain
    Fernand Hautain
    Fernand Hautain was a Belgian businessman and governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1923 until 1926.-Career:He started his career at an early age, and combined working with evening classes and self-tuition...

     (1923–1926)
  • Louis Franck
    Louis Franck
    This article is about Louis Franck the lawyer and not about Louis Franck the frontman of Esthetic Education.Louis Marie François Franck was a Belgian lawyer, liberal politician and statesman.-Education:...

     (1926–1937)
  • Georges Janssen
    Georges Janssen
    Georges Janssen was a Belgian lawyer, civil servant and governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1938 until 1941.-Career:...

     (1938–1941)
  • Albert Goffin
    Albert Goffin
    Albert Goffin was a Belgian banker, civil servant and governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 16 July until 27 November 1941.He started his career at the NBB in 1907...

     (1941)
  • Georges Theunis
    Georges Theunis
    Georges Emile Léonard Theunis was the 24th Prime Minister of Belgium from 16 December 1921 to 13 May 1925 and again from 20 November 1934 to 25 March 1935. He was governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1941 until 1944.He received a military training and was also trained as an engineer...

     (1941–1944)
  • Maurice Frère
    Maurice Frère
    Maurice Frère was a Belgian civil servant and governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1944 until 1957. He lectured at the Free University of Brussels ....

     (1944–1957)
  • Hubert Ansiaux
    Hubert Ansiaux
    Hubert Ansiaux was a governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1957 until 1971.After he graduated from the École de Commerce Solvay, he joined the National Bank of Belgium in 1935...

     (1957–1971)
  • Robert Vandeputte
    Robert Vandeputte
    Robert Vandeputte was a Belgian economist, civil servant, politician, and former governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1971 until 1975.-Source:* * Robert Vandeputte, Een machteloos minister, Standaard, 1982...

     (1971–1975)
  • Cecil de Strycker
    Cecil de Strycker
    Baron Cecil de Strycker was a Belgian economist, civil servant, and former governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1975 until 1982...

     (1975–1982)
  • Jean Godeaux
    Jean Godeaux
    Baron Jean Godeaux was a Belgian economist, civil servant and former governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1982 until 1989.Jean Godeaux studied both law and economics, and started his career in 1947 at the NBB in the Foreign Affairs department. From 1949 until 1955, he was a member of the...

     (1982–1989)
  • Alfons Verplaetse
    Alfons Verplaetse
    Alfons "Fons", Viscount Verplaetse is a Belgian economist and former Governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1989 until 1999. He was one of the architects of the devaluation of Belgian Frank in 1982 when he worked at the cabinet of Wilfried Martens in the government Martens V...

     (1989–1999)
  • Guy Quaden
    Guy Quaden
    Guy, Baron Quaden is a Belgian economist and since 1 March 1999 Governor of the National Bank of Belgium. He is a member of the Council of governing board and of the general Council of the European Central Bank...

     (1999–2011)
  • Luc Coene
    Luc Coene
    Luc Coene is a Belgian economist and Governor of the National Bank of Belgium .-Education:Luc Coene graduated in economics at Ghent University and obtained a postgraduate diploma in European economic integration at the College of Europe .-Career:He started his career at the NBB in July 1973,...

     (2011-...)

Library

The National Bank's library is one of the most important economic library in Belgium. The reading room is open to the public.

See also

  • Jonathan-Raphaël Bisschoffsheim
    Jonathan-Raphaël Bisschoffsheim
    Jonathan-Raphaël Bischoffsheim was a Belgian banker, businessman and philanthropist. He descended from a wealthy Jewish family, and was endowed with an exceptional European network...

    , founder and first President
  • Economy of Belgium
    Economy of Belgium
    The modern, private enterprise economy of Belgium has capitalised on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base...

  • Euro
  • Belgian franc
    Belgian franc
    The franc was the currency of Belgium until 2002 when the euro was introduced into circulation. It was subdivided into centimes , 100 centiem or Centime .-History:...


External links

National Bank of Belgium official site
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