List of banks in Belgium
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The following list of banks in Belgium is to be understood within the framework of the European single market and European banking union, which means that the Belgian banking system is more open to cross-border banking operations than peers outside of the EU.
Policy framework
European banking supervision distinguishes between significant institutions (SIs) and less significant institutions (LSIs), with SI/LSI designations updated regularly by the European Central Bank (ECB). Significant institutions are directly supervised by the ECB using joint supervisory teams that involve the national competent authorities (NCAs) of individual participating countries. Less significant institutions are supervised by the relevant NCA on a day-to-day basis, under the supervisory oversight of the ECB.[1] In Belgium's case, the NCA is the National Bank of Belgium.[2]
Significant institutions
As of 1 September 2025, the list of supervised institutions maintained by the ECB included the following five Belgian banking groups as SIs, with names as indicated by the ECB for each group's consolidating entity:[3]
- Investeringsmaatschappij Argenta NV / Société d'investissements Argenta SA / Investierungsgesellschaft Argenta AG
- The Bank of New York Mellon SA/NV (BNY Group)
- Belfius Banque SA / Belfius Bank NV / Belfius Bank SA
- Crelan SA / Crelan NV
- KBC Group NV
In addition to these, other euro-area-based banking groups have significant operations in the country. A study published in 2024 assessed that the largest bank by assets in Belgium (as opposed to total consolidated assets) at end-2023 was BNP Paribas (€374 billion, via BNP Paribas Fortis and Template:Ill), followed by KBC (€225 billion), Belfius (€179 billion), ING Group (€128 billion), Argenta (€60 billion), Crelan (€54 billion), BNY (€40 billion), and Crédit Mutuel (€10 billion, via Beobank).[4]Template:Rp BPCE and Crédit Agricole are also present via their respective acquisitions of Banque Nagelmackers and Degroof Petercam in 2024. Belgium is also home to subsidiaries of other euro-area significant institutions, namely MDB Group and UniCredit. By contrast, Euroclear Bank, whose balance sheet grew rapidly to more than €200 billion as a consequence of the European Union sanctions against Russia which were introduced in late February 2022, remains designated by the ECB as a LSI.[3]
Less significant institutions
As of 1 September 2025, the ECB's list of supervised institutions included 17 Belgian LSIs.[3]
High-impact LSIs
Of these, three were designated as "high-impact" on the basis of several criteria including size:
- Euroclear Holding SA/NV, the parent company of the Euroclear Group
- FinAx NV, holding entity of Delen Private Bank
- vdk bank, a former local savings bank
Two additional entities owned by Euroclear Holding SA/NV, international central securities depository Euroclear Bank and intermediate holding company Euroclear SA, meet the criteria for SI designation but have been classified by the ECB as LSIs by special derogation, together with a handful of other financial market infrastructures.[3]
Non-euro-area-controlled LSIs
Based on the same ECB list, four Belgian LSIs were controlled by financial groups outside the euro area:
- Byblos Bank Europe, subsidiary of Byblos Bank
- Belgian branch of Hoist Finance AB
- Belgian branch of Saxo Bank A/S
- United Taiwan Bank SA, subsidiary of Taiwan Cooperative Bank
Other LSIs
The other eight Belgian LSIs were:
- Bank Dierickx Leys, a private bank
- Bank J. Van Breda en C° NV, a private bank
- Banque Eni SA, subsidiary of Eni
- Datex Financial Holding, owner of BankB
- Template:Ill, a local savings bank (formerly CKV Bank)
- Template:Ill, a local cooperative group
- Delen Private Bank SA, subsidiary of FinAx NV (see above)
- Van De Put & Co Private Bankers
Other institutions
The National Bank of Belgium, which is half-owned by the Belgian government, is specifically exempted from EU banking law by the Capital Requirements Directives.[5]
Defunct banks
A number of former Belgian banks, defined as having been headquartered in the present-day territory of Belgium and its colonies, are documented on Wikipedia. They are listed below in chronological order of establishment.
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- Banque de Commerce (1780-1989)
- Template:Ill (1801-1874)
- Société Générale de Belgique (1822-1934)
- Banque d'Anvers (1823-1965)
- Banque de Belgique (1835-1885)
- Banque Lambert (1835-1975)
- Banque Liégeoise (1835-c. 1940)
- Caisse Générale d'Épargne et de Retraite (1850-1999)
- Crédit Communal de Belgique (1860-1996)
- Template:Ill (1866-1905)
- Bank of Brussels (1871-1975)
- Banque Philippson (1871-2024)
- Caisse Générale de Reports et de Dépôts (1874-1953)
- Template:Ill (1881-1999)
- Template:Ill (1892-1998)
- Crédit Anversois (1898-1941)
- Template:Ill (1900-1919)
- Société Belge de Banque (1901-1965)
- Banque Belge pour l'Étranger (1902-2005)
- Template:Ill (1906-1919)
- Template:Ill (1906-1919)
- Crédit Foncier d'Extrême-Orient (1907-1959)
- Banque du Congo Belge (1909-1960)
- Banque Italo-Belge (1911-c. 2000)
- Template:Ill (1913-1934)
- Société Nationale de Crédit à l'Industrie (1919-1997)
- Template:Ill (1923-1927)
- Template:Ill (1924-2001)
- Template:Ill (1925-1998)
- Banque Belge d'Afrique (1929-1971)
- Template:Ill (1929-2001)
- Template:Ill (1930-2009)
- Antwerp Diamond Bank (1934-2014)
- Générale de Banque (1934-1999)
- Office Central de Crédit Hypothécaire (1936-2001)
- Template:Ill (1937-2013)
- Template:Ill (1938-1997)
- Template:Ill (1940-1945)
- Société Congolaise de Banque (1945-1970)
- Banque Centrale du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi (1952-1961)
- Template:Ill (1956-2013)
- Banque Belgolaise (1960-2018)
- Bank Brussels Lambert (1975-2003)
- Template:Ill (1986-1999)
- Fortis Group (1990-2009)
- Template:Ill (1991-2016)
- Template:Ill (1995-2024)
- Template:Ill (1997-2013)
- Template:Ill (2001-2016)
- Template:Ill (2019-2025)
See also
References
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