Remarkable | Belfius, changing a brand in a time of crisis

The day Belfius was born

Changing a brand in a time of crisis

The Challenge

When the French-Belgian holding Dexia faced severe financial difficulties, its Belgian banking and insurance company, also named Dexia, suffered from the bad reputation of the corporate brand. Amid this turbulent period, it was essential to find a sustainable solution to prevent further repercussions on the Belgian entity. A new brand was needed to disassociate the bank from its troubled past and restore public trust.

Our Solution

We managed the crisis by recommending a name change, a strategic step to distance the bank from the tarnished Dexia brand. Within three months, we generated an extensive list of alternative names, conducted stakeholder interviews, and ensured rigorous linguistic and legal checks. Eventually, from the ashes of Dexia rose Belfius — a new name symbolising trust and Belgian identity, which has since become a firmly established household brand.

Services

Brand Strategy & Positioning
Stakeholder consultation and interviews
Brand name development
Linguistic and legal name validation

Changing a brand in a time of crisis

The imperative to create a new identity for Dexia Bank came amidst an ongoing financial crisis that threatened the entire group’s reputation. As a rule, we often see name changes as a last resort, favouring strategies that preserve brand equity where possible. However, in this extreme case of a corporate financial meltdown, it was clear that a name change was unavoidable.

A New Name for a New Era

Our first step was to generate a longlist of possible names that would embody the bank’s future values: trust, inclusion, and a national touch. In parallel, we conducted internal interviews to involve stakeholders and generate ideas from the organisation’s own people.

The name that ultimately made the cut was Belfius, a name that evokes a sense of belonging and reliability. It stands for ‘Belgium’ and the Latin word ‘fiducia,’ which means trust. The logo was designed to reinforce this message, featuring an equality sign that symbolises the bank’s promise of inclusiveness and openness. Belfius delivered on its brand promise of being a bank for all Belgians, moving beyond the shadows of Dexia’s downfall.

Result

Belfius successfully emerged as a new, trusted name in the Belgian financial landscape. The rebranding process effectively distanced the bank from the negativity surrounding Dexia, allowing it to regain customer confidence and build a strong, positive identity for the future.

The urgency of the crisis required that the new brand name and identity be developed in record time, yet still maintaining the highest standards of quality and consistency. Today, Belfius is seen as a stable and reliable bank, with very few people associating it with its past under the Dexia brand — a true testament to the success of this strategic rebranding.