Bank Mendes Gans

Bank Mendes Gans N.V. is a Dutch bank, founded in 1883 and located in the centre of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The institute is nowadays active as a international cash management bank.

Profile

Bank Mendes Gans N.V. (BMG), subsidiary of the ING Group, is a worldwide renowned niche player in the area of liquidity management and information management services, for large multinationals. The company is one of the most important cash management specialists in the world. BMG's core activity is cash management, contrary to banks like for example ABN Amro or Citibank, for which this forms only a limited and less profitable part of the services rendered.

History

At the time the Amsterdam born Julius Gans founded its brokerage firm Gans & Co. in 1883, he mainly traded in foreign stock, drafts and coupons. Six year later, on May 23rd 1889, Isaak Mendes (from Jewish Portuguese decent) joined the firm as his partner. Consequently the name of the brokerage firm changed to Mendes Gans & Co.

In 1911 Mendes Gans & Co. changed into a licensed bank (under supervision of, and licensed by, the Dutch Central Bank "De Nederlandsche Bank"). In those days the company was mainly involved in managing the investment portfolio of wealthy Dutch individuals.

After the first World War the bank relocated to Herengracht 619, a stately residence, built in 1667, by order of the Jan Six (1618), former mayor of Amsterdam, designed by architect Adriaen Dortsman. The bank is till located at these premises.

With guidance of the American company and shareholder Dow Chemical, Mendes Gans focused on cash management in the sixties. This consequently, after divesting the brokerage business (to ING), led to the further specialization as a cash management bank.

Isaak Mendes en Julius Gans

As result of the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands, Isaak Mendes fled during the hectic "May days" of 1940 to the south of France, where he died in poverty, at the age of 70 before the war ended. Partner and co-founder Julius Gans died in 1928 at the age of 65.

Shareholder ING Bank N.V.

By means of gradually purchasing shares from main shareholders Philips Finance Company, Manufacturers Hanover Trust (currently JP Morgan Chase) and Dow Chemical, 99 percent of the shares of Bank Mendes Gans N.V. were obtained by ING Bank N.V.Early 2000 the decision was made to de-list Bank Mendes Gans N.V. form the Amsterdam Stock Exchange ("AEX-Effectenbeurs/Euronext Amsterdam") on February 1st 2000. By terminating the quotation, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange did not only loose one of its most expensive funds, the shares were valued in excess of 20.000 Dutch Guilders (over 9.000 Euro), but also one of its oldest. With its own Board of Management, Supervisory Board, banking license and annual report, BMG is an independently operating business unit of the ING Wholesale Banking division