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Banque Internationale à Luxembourg

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Banque internationale du Luxembourg
Company typePrivate
IndustryBanking
Founded1856; 168 years ago (1856)
Headquarters
Luxembourg
ProductsCorporate banking
Commercial banking
OwnerLegend Holdings (89.980%)
Luxembourg government (9.998%)
Number of employees
2000 (2022)
Websitewww.bil.com

Banque Internationale à Luxembourg S.A. (BIL, "International Bank in Luxembourg": Luxembourgish: International Bank zu Lëtzebuerg) is the oldest private bank in Luxembourg.[1] It offers commercial and corporate banking services, and was the country's third-largest employer by 2011, with 3,640 employees.[2] Since 2018, it has been majority-owned by China-headquartered Legend Holdings. The bank has offices in Luxembourg, Switzerland and China.

BIL has been designated in 2018 as a Significant Institution under the criteria of European Banking Supervision, and as a consequence is directly supervised by the European Central Bank.[3]

History

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Former BIL head office on 2, Boulevard Royal, built in 1902 and purchased in 1998 by the newly created Central Bank of Luxembourg

The bank was founded on 8 March 1856,[4] with involvement of leading financiers Gustav Mevissen, Abraham Oppenheim,[5]: 38  and the Pereire brothers.[6]: 150  Its initial shareholders included the banking houses Emile Erlanger & Co. (40 percent), Sal. Oppenheim (16 percent), and A. Schaaffhausen'scher Bankverein (16 percent).[2] Its first counter opened on 31 July 1856, the first in Luxembourg and a fortnight before the opening of the rival state-owned Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État.[2] Deposits reached a million francs in 1869 and 100 million in 1916.[4]

Like other banks in the German Confederation, BIL issued banknotes in multiple currencies including the Belgian franc, Dutch guilder, Prussian thaler, and Rhineland thaler. In 1914, the BIL's notes became legal tender in Luxembourg.[7] After World War I, Belgium's Banque de Bruxelles became a significant shareholder together with Paris-based Banque de l'Union Parisienne, joined in 1926 by Germany's Dresdner Bank.[2]

Edmond Israel [lb] was CEO of the bank from 1973 to 1989.[8] Starting in 1976, BIL acquired the Luxembourg subsidiary of Belgium's Banque Lambert, initially founded in 1961 as Banque Européenne du Luxembourg [lb], and fully absorbed it in 1979. In 1982, it opened a subsidiary in Singapore.[9] In 1983, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert and Pargesa Holding, both controlled by Belgian financier Albert Frère, in turn acquired minority stakes in the equity of BIL. In 1991, Crédit Communal de Belgique acquired 25 percent of the capital of BIL, and in 1992 raised its stake to 51 percent.[10] By the mid-1990s, BIL was the largest bank in Luxembourg, with 46 branches in the country.[11]: 18 

In 1998, BIL acquired the Banque Industrielle et Immobilière Privée (BIMP).[12] Crédit Communal de Belgique, which had become Dexia in 1996, acquired full ownership of BIL in 1999. In the 2000, the Dexia brand replaced the former BIL identity.[13]

In 1997, BIL opened new branches in Dublin, Singapore and the Cayman Islands to "satisfy a new demand [...] in cross-cultural transactions".[14]

The BIL head office with Dexia branding, photographed in 2008

In 2011, François Pauly [fr] was appointed CEO of Dexia BIL.[15] In 2012 Dexia sold a 90 percent stake in BIL for €730 million to Precision Capital,[16] which also owned KBL European Private Bankers, while the Luxembourg government retained a 10 percent stake. In 2014, Hugues Delcourt was appointed CEO of BIL.[17] In 2015, the BIL closed its Singapore subsidiary.[9]

In 2017, the Chinese investment company Legend Holdings announced it was acquiring Precision Capital's 90% stake in the bank for €1.484 billion.[18][19] In July 2018, the acquisition, notified through the Luxembourg regulator (CSSF), was approved by the European Central Bank.[20][21]

In 2020, the bank reported a decrease of 10% of its annual results.[22]

Luc Frieden was chairman of BIL from 2016 to 2023.[23]

Controversy

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In August 2020, Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier imposed a large fine of 4.6 million euro on BIL, following inspection of the bank's AMLCFT systems in 2017 and 2018.[24]

In 2024, the U.K.’s National Crime Agency found that BIL played a "central role" in helping Jahangir Hajiyev, former chairman of the International Bank of Azerbaijan, to move embezzled funds.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "A Chinese carmaker agrees to buy a Danish investment bank". The Economist. 5 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Jean-Michel Gaudron & Jean-Michel Hennebert (4 September 2017). "La Bil, un géant de plus de 160 ans". Paperjam.
  3. ^ "List of supervised entities" (PDF). European Central Bank. 1 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b Boob, Aurélie (13 July 2022). "1856: creation of BIL and Spuerkeess". delano.lu. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  5. ^ Sandra Zeumer (2003), The Cologne private banks and industrial financing in the early 19th century, University of Cologne
  6. ^ Jean Autin (1984). Les frères Pereire : Le bonheur d'entreprendre. Paris: Perrin.
  7. ^ "Monetary History". Banque Centrale du Luxembourg.
  8. ^ "Interview d'Edmond Israel: Pierre Werner et la création de la Société européenne de satellites (Luxembourg, 27 août 2010)". CVCE.EU by UNI.LU (in French). 2016-09-07. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  9. ^ a b "BIL To Close Its Office in Singapore as Part of a New Strategic Framework". www.businesswire.com. 2015-05-13. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  10. ^ Manfred Pohl (1994), Handbook on the History of European Banks, Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 702
  11. ^ Jacques Moden (1996), "La restructuration du Credit communal", Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP (1539), Brussels: Centre de recherche et d'information socio-politiques
  12. ^ "La BIMP dans le giron de Dexia". Les Echos (in French). 1998-06-08. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  13. ^ Sébastien Buron (11 January 2007). "Manager de l'Année" (PDF). Levif.be (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  14. ^ OliverJune 1997, Rachel. "Luxembourg: BIL opens three new operations". IPE. Retrieved 2023-01-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "François Pauly bientôt à la tête de Dexia BIL". paperjam.lu (in French). Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  16. ^ "Closing of the sale of Banque Internationale à Luxembourg" (PDF). Dexia. 5 October 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  17. ^ Staff, Verdict (2014-10-07). "Banque Internationale à Luxembourg names new CEO". Private Banker International. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  18. ^ "Legend Holdings to acquire Precision Capital's stake in Banque Internationale à Luxembourg" (Press release). Banque Internationale à Luxembourg. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  19. ^ "Major Transaction Acquisition of 89.936% Issued Share Capital in Banque Internationale a Luxembourg S.A." (PDF) (Press release). Legend Holdings. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  20. ^ "Legend Holding gets regulatory green light for BIL purchase". luxtimes.lu. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  21. ^ "Purchase complete: Legend Holdings acquires BIL - Delano - Luxembourg in English". Delano (in French). 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  22. ^ "La BIL présente des bénéfices 2020 en berne". Luxemburger Wort - Edition francophone (in French). 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  23. ^ Léna Fernandes (17 March 2023). "Luc Frieden officially steps down as president of BIL". Delano.lu.
  24. ^ Jess Bauldry (10 August 2020). "CSSF issues BIL with hefty fine". Delano.lu.
  25. ^ "Luxembourg Bank "Central" to Purchase of High-End British Real Estate with Embezzled Azerbaijan Funds, U.K. Police Say". OCCRP. 2024.
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