Genre: Information/Explanation

He started his career as a businessman establishing weaving mills in Ohain , Lokeren , Tubize , Zele and Ghent . The mills of Tubize , Zele and Ghent would , years later , grow into the Usines Cotonnières de Belgique . From the establishment of the Caisse Générale d ' Épargne et de Retraite in 1865 , he became a member of its management board and became its president in 1889 . In 1869 he was appointed to the discount committee of the NBB , and a year later he became a director . He succeeded Eugène Anspach as vice-governor of the NBB in 1888 and as governor in 1891 . His term as governor of the NBB coincided with an economic revival after the economic depression which had lasted from 1873 until 1895 . Under his leadership the Public Depository as a new department was established at the bank . From now on people could deposit all sorts of valuables or securities , and the bank would take charge of the deposits . On 26 March 1900 the law came into force which for the second time extended the term of the Bank by thirty years .