Developments in the practice of the Banking Commission (1935-1975) ; Évolution de la pratique de la Commission bancaire (1935-1975)
The Banking Commission is the direct anchor of the current Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA). Looking at the history of the first 40 years of this Commission's activity, it is therefore necessary to understand the origins of the Belgian banking supervisory body and its development over the 20th century.T. Giddey goes back here to the sources of the institutional configurations that characterise the current Belgian banking regulatory regime. To do so, it examines the decision-making processes that have led to the adoption — or failure — of successive draft regulations. It shows that these processes have given rise to a crystallisation of socio-political power relations, with the formalisation of control over banks being above all a political issue. After reviewing the emergence phase of banking regulation, it discusses its implementation in the years 1935-1975. This extension of the approach to supervisory practices as such makes it possible to measure the gap between them and the legal requirements, which are otherwise more rigid. The second part of this study examines the specific activities of the Banking Commission, covering four themes: the assertiveness of auditors (who directly control banks), the problem of determining bank coefficients (a very political problem in its scope), the delicate question of implementing measures aimed at separating deposit-taking banks from the financial group to which they belong ('protocols on banking autonomy'), and the gradual extension of the Commission's powers from the end of the 1950s (in particular as regards investment funds, public calls for credit and supervision of private savings banks). ; International audience ; The Banking Commission is the direct anchor of the current Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA). Looking at the history of the first 40 years of this Commission's activity, it is therefore necessary to understand the origins of the Belgian banking supervisory body and its development over the 20th century.T. Giddey goes back here ...