Société Congolaise de Banque

The Socobanque was established in 1947 by the Brussels-based Banque de Reports et de Dépôts (BRD) as its affiliate in the Belgian Congo.^[1] It came under control of the Banque Lambert as the latter took over the BRD in 1953.

In 1961, Banque Lambert fostered the creation of the Geneva-based Société financière pour les pays d'outre-mer (SFOM) with the aim of pooling its shareholders' investments in Africa;^[2]: 6 together with Banque Lambert, SFOM's founders included France's Banque Nationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie and its African subsidiary BNCI-Afrique, California-based Bank of America, and Milan-based Banca d'America e d'Italia, which in 1964 were joined by Germany's Commerzbank.^[3] As a consequence, SFOM became the controlling shareholder of the Socobanque.

In 1970, following alleged tax irregularities, Socobanque was seized by the Congolese government,^[4] subsequently renamed "Banque du Peuple", and eventually nationalized in 1978. By 1987, it was still among the top three banks in Zaire.^[5]

The Socobanque / Banque du Peuple was later renamed Banque Zaïroise du Commerce Extérieur (BZCE), which after the country's renaming in 1997 was renamed Banque Congolaise du Commerce Extérieur (BCCE).^[1] The BCCE was eventually liquidated in 2002.^[6]

• Banque du Congo Belge
• Banque Belge d'Afrique