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The Banque Philippson was a significant private bank in
Jean Degroof had started working at the Banque Philippson in early 1912, aged 15, and rose through the ranks to become a partner. During World War II, together with fellow partner Richard Weitzel, he ran the bank during Jules Philippson's exile. In mid-1953, Degroof bought out Paul Philippson's shares and thus became a principal shareholder together with Jules Philippson, upon which the bank changed its name to Jules Phippson, Jean Degroof & Cie. An investment entity fully owned by Jean Degroof, the (Mupagemo), was established in 1955 to hold these shares. Following Jules Philippson's death in 1961, the bank abbreviated its name to Jean Degroof & Cie, while Mupagemo acquired the shares he had held in the bank.
By 1968, the bank's shareholders () were Jean Degroof (19,10 percent), Philippson family heir Benedict Goldschmidt (15,37 percent), Mupagemo (58,73 percent), and other members of the Philippson family (6,8 percent). Mupagemo then gradually bought out other shareholders and its equity stake grew to 75 percent in 1970, 84 percent in 1973, and 100 percent in 1988. In 1998, Marcel Degroof, by then the controlling shareholder of Mupagemo, sold shares to the bank's management and to external investors via the holding . In 2011, the
The 2015 merger of Degroof and Petercam created a diversified financial services group centered on its asset management business but also offering services of institutional management, investment banking and the administrative management of investment funds. By 2023, its assets under management reached a total €71 billion. Alain Philippson became chairman of the merged entity, and was succeeded in 2018 by . and in 2021 by Gilles Samyn. In 2025, Jef Van In became Chairman of the board of directors.
In August 2023,
The Banque Philippson was a significant private bank in Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, founded in 1871 by Franz Philippson. It took the name Degroof in 1961 following a change in controlling ownership. In 2015, it merged with Belgian brokerage Petercam to form Degroof Petercam. In August 2023, Indosuez Wealth Management (a subsidiary of Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
-based Crédit Agricole
Crédit Agricole Group (), sometimes called La banque verte (, , due to its historical ties to farming), is a French international banking group and the world's largest cooperative financial institution. It is the second largest bank in France, ...
) announced its acquisition of an 80-percent stake in Degroof Petercam, which it completed in 2024.
Banque Philippson
Franz Philippson (1851-1929) was the son of prominent Germanrabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
Ludwig Philippson
Ludwig Philippson (28 December 1811 – 29 December 1889) was a German rabbi and author.
Early life and education
Ludwig Philippson was born in Dessau, the son of Moses Philippson, a printer, writer, teacher, translator, publisher and a member o ...
and his second wife Mathilde Hirsch. In 1866, he moved to Brussels and started working for Venetian Jewish banker , who had settled in the city a decade earlier. In 1871, the same year as Errera founded the Banque de Bruxelles
The Bank of Brussels (, ) was a prominent bank in Brussels, established in 1871 and merged in 1975 with Banque Lambert to form Banque Bruxelles Lambert. It was Belgium's second-largest bank for most of its existence, behind the Société Géné ...
, he entrusted Philippson with the initial capital for a bank in the latter's own name. In 1877, Errera's mental health problems resulted in Philippson's bank becoming fully autonomous. In 1888, Philippson secured a prominent position among the Brussels banking community by leading the restructuring of the CIty of Brussels' debt.
In 1909, Philippson became one of the main founding shareholders of the Banque du Congo Belge
The Banque du Congo Belge (BCB, ; ) was a Belgian colonial bank that mainly operated in the Belgian Congo from 1909 to 1960. Following Congolese independence, it kept operating as the Banque du Congo from 1960 to 1971, the Banque Commerciale Zaà ...
. Franz's sons Maurice (1877-1938) and Jules Philippson (1881-1961) led the bank in the interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
. During World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Philippson family had to flee the country to escape antisemitic persecution, then came back following the liberation of Belgium
The Liberation of Belgium from German occupation began on 2 September 1944 when Allied forces entered the province of Hainaut and was completed on 4 February 1945 with the liberation of the village of Krewinkel. The liberation came after fou ...
in 1945. By 1955, the bank was involved in 8 percent of all transactions on the Belgian stock market.
Degroof
Jean Degroof had started working at the Banque Philippson in early 1912, aged 15, and rose through the ranks to become a partner. During World War II, together with fellow partner Richard Weitzel, he ran the bank during Jules Philippson's exile. In mid-1953, Degroof bought out Paul Philippson's shares and thus became a principal shareholder together with Jules Philippson, upon which the bank changed its name to Jules Phippson, Jean Degroof & Cie. An investment entity fully owned by Jean Degroof, the (Mupagemo), was established in 1955 to hold these shares. Following Jules Philippson's death in 1961, the bank abbreviated its name to Jean Degroof & Cie, while Mupagemo acquired the shares he had held in the bank.
By 1968, the bank's shareholders () were Jean Degroof (19,10 percent), Philippson family heir Benedict Goldschmidt (15,37 percent), Mupagemo (58,73 percent), and other members of the Philippson family (6,8 percent). Mupagemo then gradually bought out other shareholders and its equity stake grew to 75 percent in 1970, 84 percent in 1973, and 100 percent in 1988. In 1998, Marcel Degroof, by then the controlling shareholder of Mupagemo, sold shares to the bank's management and to external investors via the holding . In 2011, the Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
-based Cigrang family became shareholders of Banque Degroof via their CLdN holding company. By 2022, , a great-grandson of Franz Philippson, had again become the largest single shareholder in the bank.
Petercam
Petercam traces its origins to the stockbroking businesses of Léon Libert and Émile Van Campenhout, who started operations in 1919 and 1927 respectively, the former being joined from 1934 by his son-in-law Lucien Peterbroeck. Their respective inheritors, Jean Peterbroeck and Etienne and Emmanuel Van Campenhout, founded the brokerage Peterbroeck and Campenhout & Co in 1968, abbreviated as Petercam.Degroof Petercam
The 2015 merger of Degroof and Petercam created a diversified financial services group centered on its asset management business but also offering services of institutional management, investment banking and the administrative management of investment funds. By 2023, its assets under management reached a total €71 billion. Alain Philippson became chairman of the merged entity, and was succeeded in 2018 by . and in 2021 by Gilles Samyn. In 2025, Jef Van In became Chairman of the board of directors.
In August 2023, Crédit Agricole
Crédit Agricole Group (), sometimes called La banque verte (, , due to its historical ties to farming), is a French international banking group and the world's largest cooperative financial institution. It is the second largest bank in France, ...
announced its intent to purchase an 80 percent stake in Degroof Petercam via its subsidiary Indosuez Wealth Management
Banque Indosuez was a French bank, the product of the 1975 merger of Banque de l'Indochine and Banque de Suez et de l'Union des mines. It was purchased by Crédit Agricole in 1996, and formed the core of what is now Crédit Agricole Corporate and ...
. The remaining 20 percent would remain held by the Cigrang family. By early June 2024, Crédit Agricole held 65 percent of the shares and prepared to launch an offer on an additional 15 percent.
Results (2024) https://press.degroofpetercam.com/degroof-petercam-consolidated-results-2024
* Total net income of 617.6 million euros (579.3 million in 2023)
* Gross operating profit of 149.3 million euros (118.5 million in 2023)
* Net profit of 78.3 million euros (56.3 million in 2023)
* Total client assets (net) of 79.8 billion euros (74.3 billion at end 2023)
* Capital ratio (CET1): 29.5% (24.0% at end 2023), well above prudential requirements
See also
*Banque Nagelmackers
Nagelmackers is a private bank in Belgium, the oldest in the country and the 14th oldest surviving bank in the world. It focuses on wealthy individuals and families, relying on a network of local offices. In July 2024, It was purchased from China' ...
Notes
Defunct banks of Belgium Banks established in 1871 Banks under direct supervision of the European Central Bank {{bank-stub