iSurprise Escompto Bank

Stately art deco headquarters of the Escompto Bank

Striking window frames adorned with the Dutch Indies coats of arms

Stately office buildings

Jl Pintu Besar is a street lined with grand office buildings. On the corner with Jl. Bank is the old and prestigious headquarters of the Nederlandsch-Indische Maatschappij Escompto. The 1920s design by Cuypers is sober, yet impressive.

Coat of arms

Above the window frames are the most important coats of arms of the Dutch Indies: from left to right the shield of the Netherlands, followed by Java’s three largest cities Semarang, Batavia and Surabaya and finally the City of Amsterdam.

What’s in a name?

Escompto comes from the French word ‘Escompte’ which means: ‘advance’ or ‘loan’.

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