Greysheet Catalog Details
The sovereignty of the Etat Independant du Congo (EIC) transferred to the Belgian state on 15 November 1908. A royal decree of 28 December 1908 authorized the Banque Nationale de Belgique (National Bank of Belgium) in Brussels to take over the treasury of the Congo. Belgian notes were used temporarily in the colony, and EIC notes continued to circulate, but were withdrawn after deposit in the treasury. The Banque du Congo Belge (Bank of the Belgian Congo, BCB) was established 11 January 1909. On 7 July 1911, the Belgian government granted a charter—which was approved by royal decree on 18 July 1911—to the BCB permitting it to issue notes from the initial five branches in Boma, Elisabethville, Kinshasa, Matadi, and Stanleyville, although it never did issue notes from the Boma branch.