Banque defoe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Banque Defoe S.A. | |
| Type | Société Anonyme de Luxembourg |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1824 |
| Headquarters | Luxembourg |
| Industry | Private and Investment Banking |
| Products | Financial Services |
| Employees | 70 (800 including all subsidiaries & units) |
| Website | [1] |
BANQUE DEFOE S.A.
Present and History
Banque Defoe is a bank to the extremely wealthy. Founded as Defoe Fournier & Cie. in 1824 Paris by Anatole Defoe and Mathis Fournier, it became a leading gold bullion trading house, establishing itself as a gold custodian and transfer agent. 1
It was considered to be one of the the most reliable groups and was recognized by many French and Belgian colony rulers who appointed Defoe Fournier & Cie. as their keepers of wealth. The utmost cofidentiality maintained by Defoe Fournier & Cie. along with abolsute financial prudence were the cornerstones of its business. 2
Over next 180 years the bank did not really change. It was renamed to Banque Defoe and in 1970 was relocated to Luxembourg. In essense it is still a banker with very tight lips to the very wealthy European establishment. Banque Defoe, with estimated just 70 employees, works under the governance of 30 or so partners. Dozens of subsidiaries and business units report to the bank and its partners. With over $5 billion in capital the bank is considered to be very solid. It very seldom solicits business and Banque Defoe partners, mostly hailing from European wealthy dynasties, are the discreet face of the bank, which has no obvious presence and its single Luxembourg office has no name plate. 3
Banque Defoe conducts its investment activities in the private placement marketplace and mainly acts as investor in large project financing transactions. It coinvests with alikes of ABN AMRO and HSBC. Many offshore oil drilling platforms, power generation plants and toll roads were funded by Banque Defoe investments. Banque Defoe investments often involve large ownership positions in blue chip European companies. 4 5
Portrait of Mathis Fournier, circa 1793
Competitors
Pictet & Cie
Arbuthnot Latham & Co
Brown, Shipley & Co.
Credit Suisse
External Related Links
Banque Defoe S.A.
Gruppo Banca Leonardo
Defoe Capital, Ltd., the investment banking unit of Banque Defoe SA
IFIL Investments
CNP: Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille
Eurazeo
Notes
1. Archives de France: Centre des archives du monde du travail (The Centre for Archives of the Workplace). Retrieved March 11, 2003.
2. Archives de France: Centre des archives d'Outre Mer (The Centre for Archives of Overseas Territories). Retrieved March 11, 2003.
3. Company data
4. Royal Dutch Shell Plc private placement prospectus, 1982.
5. ABN AMRO project finance prospectus, 2002.
