Banque de l'Indochine
Headquarters building in Paris (completed 1922), 96 boulevard Haussmann | |
Native name | Banque de l'Indochine |
|---|---|
| Industry | financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding |
| Predecessor | Banque Industrielle de Chine |
| Founded | 21 January 1875 |
| Defunct | 1975 |
| Successor | Banque Indosuez |
The Banque de l'Indochine (French: [bɑ̃k də lɛ̃dɔʃin]), originally Banque de l'Indo-Chine ("Bank of Indochina"), was a bank created in 1875 in Paris to finance French colonial development in Asia. As a bank of issue in Indochina until 1952 (and in French Pacific territories until 1967), with many features of a central bank, it played a major role in the financial history of French Indochina, French India, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Djibouti, as well as French-backed ventures in China and Siam. After World War II, it lost its issuance privilege but reinvented itself as an investment bank in France, and developed new ventures in other countries, such as Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
The Compagnie Financière de Suez acquired a controlling interest in the Banque de l'Indochine in 1972, then merged it in 1975 with its own banking subsidiary to form Banque Indosuez, since 1996 itself part of the Crédit Agricole universal banking group.