The Banque Adam participates in the National Loan of 1920

This poster from the Banque Adam, created by the portrait artist and sculptor Charles-Albert Walhain (1877-1936), fits into the dominant theme of reconstruction posters. The fisherman and the port, represented in the background, embody the resumption of economic activity in this region. They also recall the bank’s ties with the fishing port of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

When the banks contributed to the war effort
In the aftermath of the First World War, France needs to rebuild its devastated regions and restart its battered economy. In order to cope with this difficult financial situation, the French government launched a 5th National Loan in 1920, intended to support the national reconstruction effort.
As for the 4 previous loans (1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918), French banks used allegorical posters to make a deep impression on the people.

The Banque Adam, whose head office is in Boulogne-sur-Mer, was founded in 1874 within a trading house founded in 1766. Following the 1929 crash, its was absorbed in 1937 by the Banque Nationale pour le Commerce et l’Industrie (BNCI), one of the forerunners of BNP Paribas.