in the service of the Luxembourg financial centre

YEARS
... in the service of the
Luxembourg financial centre
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a publication of the Luxembourg Bankers’ Association
2014 75 years special edition
Luxembourg Banking Quarterly - an ABBL publication
This publication may not be reproduced, either in full or in part, without the prior permission of the ABBL. Thank you for contacting us: [email protected]
Message from
the Chairman
© ABBL
Dear members, dear readers
Ernst Wilhelm Contzen
(Chairman, ABBL)
For the past four years of this
venerable institution’s 75-year
history, I had the privilege and
honour of chairing the ABBL. My
two mandates as ABBL Chairman
also happened to coincide with
what has probably been one of
the most turbulent periods in the
ﬁnancial centre’s history.
Do not miss
Timeline
Evolution of the Luxembourg banking sector since 1950
Once upon a time in 1939...
The convention establishing the ABBL was signed on 5 June
1939 by 10 banks in Luxembourg
Since the Lehman collapse, the ABBL has been busy dealing
with the regulatory fallout of the financial crisis, particularly by assisting its members in adapting to a regulatory framework that
has been completely overhauled: from Basel 3 to the banking
union, from the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive
(AIFMD) to the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).
In addition, Luxembourg has steadily been progressing towards
the adoption of the automatic exchange of information. While this
may not have been the Copernican revolution that some believe
– precisely because it was a gradual and considered process – it
will nevertheless have a considerable impact on the structure of
the banking landscape in Luxembourg.
However, 75 years are testimony to the ABBL’s capacity to adapt
to a changing environment and to meet challenges head on in the
best interest of the financial centre. The ABBL has accompanied
the financial centre throughout the key stages of its development,
including the Euromarkets in the 60s and 70s, the creation of a
private banking industry in the late 70s and early 80s, the launch
of the cross-border fund industry in the late 80s, the introduction of
the euro at the turn of the millennium as well as the post-millennial
harmonisation of financial sector regulation in Europe.
Indeed, just as the Luxembourg economy has progressed in correlation with the development of the financial sector, the ABBL and
its membership have grown organically with the financial centre.
The ABBL’s workload and the diversity of its activities have increased as the financial industry and the rules governing it have
become ever more complex. In 1939, 10 banks established the
ABBL and the association had no staff until 1963 when it hired
its first Secretary General. Today, the ABBL has 138 members banks, lawyers, auditors, consultants, professionals of the financial
sector and financial service providers - and employs 40 people to
promote its members’ interests at all levels.
With the ABBL, the financial centre has an established, highly experienced and forward-looking association championing its cause.
I am honoured to have had the opportunity to lead this exceptional
association these past four years, a period that was both fascinating and incredibly challenging. It was a period marked by a global
financial crisis and an unprecedented sovereign debt crisis in Europe; a period which represents a paradigm shift for our industry
and this financial centre. I am convinced that with the help of the
ABBL’s unique ability to federate the interests of the various actors
of the financial sector and encourage them to work together in the
best interest of all, the Luxembourg financial centre is able to face
the future with confidence. As a financial centre, we will continue
to offer our clients in the future what has made us strong in the
past: planning security, sound government, a stable legislation, a
strong regulatory framework, as well as the cross-border knowhow and international expertise of our members: banks, lawyers,
auditors and professionals of the financial sector.
We believe in the future of Luxembourg.
United we stand, divided we fall!
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What we stand for...
Message from the CEO
The ABBL: A busy crossroads of experts and ideas
© LG Magazine / Marlene Soares
75 years of history; of the ABBL, of the financial centre and of the people that have built this financial centre.
Jean-Jacques Rommes,
(CEO, ABBL)
The ABBL’s strength has always been its ability to bring together the different actors and stakeholders
of the financial centre to find common ground and provide solutions in the best interest of all.
As the finance industry has become ever more complex, so has the work of our association. The ABBL
today employs 40 people from various fields and with very specific competencies. The ABBL’s credibility vis-à-vis its members as well as its counterparts in financial institutions, the government, public
administrations and regulatory authorities rests on the shoulders of our staff.
Importantly, the ABBL is a centre of competence precisely because it is in this association where the
financial centre’s brightest minds have traditionally come together, in clusters, committees and working
groups, to identify opportunities for the financial centre and prepare and accompany regulatory developments. The people who
work for the ABBL and the people that our members send to our committees and other bodies are absolute experts in their field,
whether in human resources, payment systems, banking technologies, banking supervision, financial market regulation, tax, law
or any other of the numerous areas that the ABBL covers.
The ABBL’s extensive range of activities is indeed unique in Luxembourg, but also beyond. No banking association in Europe
has as wide a scope of activities as the ABBL. The ABBL’s biggest achievement has been to successfully orchestrate this busy
crossroads of people and ideas, while at the same time always keeping in mind the common goal of developing and bringing
forward the financial centre. To do so over 75 years is indeed a remarkable achievement.
For a CEO, managing the ABBL represents a master class in learning how to listen and to find solutions that take into account
the interests of a very diverse constituency. Interests may shift from one business to another, or from one regulatory proposal to
the next. Due to its broad range of activities and the fact that it has to cater to very different – and occasionally diverging – interests and needs, the ABBL’s key role on the financial centre has indeed always been a delicate balancing act. As CEO, I’m not
ashamed to admit that I occasionally reached my own limits trying to accommodate all of these interests under one roof. Yet, as
an association, we have so far always succeeded in our various missions with the permanent support of our members and by
maintaining a constructive dialogue with forward-looking governments as well as pro-active public authorities and regulators.
As it has done for the past 75 years, the ABBL will continue to bring together all the voices that make up this financial centre and
who have a stake in its continued success. We will continue to be the voice of Luxembourg banking…and more.
For me personally, It has been a great pleasure, these past 20 years, to partake in the ABBL’s long history, to have witnessed the
ABBL grow with the financial centre, to have seen it master the challenges of globalisation and increased European harmonisation
and seen it steer through a global financial crisis. My time at the ABBL has come to an end. I leave with countless memories and
a great sense of personal accomplishment. The ABBL has given me a lot, and I have always fully dedicated myself to the ABBL
in return. Indeed, the ABBL, its staff and its members deserve nothing less. I therefore want to take this opportunity to thank
all the people I have had the pleasure of working with, and with whom I have shared the common goal of bringing the financial
centre forward, for their continuous support and the commitment they have made.
Former ABBL Chairmen
MAX LAMBERT
CARLO TURK
JEAN D’HUART
JEAN-JACQUES WELBES
MARCEL SCHLEDER
GEORGES ARENDT
ALBERT DONDELINGER
1945-1948
1948-1953
1953-1959 / 1964-1969
1959-1964 / 1969-1973
1973-1975 / 1981-1984
1975-1977 / 1979 (ACTING)
1977-1979
CONSTANT FRANSSENS
REMY KREMER
JEAN KRIER
CHARLES RUPPERT
PAUL MEYERS
FRANÇOIS MOES
JEAN MEYER
1979-1981
1984-1988
1988-1992
1992-1995
1995-2000
2000-2004
2005-30/04/2010
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2000
1963
• Launch of the Luxembourg Financial
Industry Federation (PROFIL) to
promote the ﬁnancial centre. The
ABBL is a founding member
• Georges Glesener becomes the ﬁrst
Secretary General of the ABBL. Before
this date, the Secretary General of the
Luxembourg Stock Exchange was also
in charge of the ABBL
2008
• Launch of the second ABBL
business line cluster The Retail
and Commercial Banking Group,
Luxembourg
1960
1990
• The ABBL founds the Bank Training
Institute (IFBL)
• Europaïsche Hypothekenbank: the ﬁrst
bank specialising in covered bonds
• Lucien Thiel becomes the ﬁrst General
Manager of the ABBL
• Creation of Luxembourg for
Finance (LFF). This project was
set up by the ABBL in 2004
in response to the increasing
globalisation of international
markets
• The ABBL is a founding
member of the European
Banking Federation (EBF)
2011
• Launch of the Union Bancaire Francophone
1969
• The ABBL introduces savings and
loan scheme (“épargne-crédit”)
2001
• The ABBL adopts its statutes in
order to open up membership to
professionals working in or for the
ﬁnancial sector other than banks
1947
1992
• Wells Fargo and Bank of America:
ﬁrst US banks in Luxembourg
2003
• The ABBL sets up the European
Banking Academy (EBA), the
precursor to the Luxembourg School
of Finance
• Launch of the Luxembourg
School of Finance (LSF) as
the Finance Department of the
University of Luxembourg
• The ABBL launches “Bancolux”,
a game simulating portfolio
management, shown at the Universal
Expo in Seville
• The ABBL organises its ﬁrst
training courses in collaboration
with the Chamber of Commerce
2007
• Launch of the ﬁrst ABBL
business line cluster: The
Private Banking Group,
Luxembourg (PBGL)
1973
• Union des Banques Suisses: ﬁrst
Swiss bank in Luxembourg
• Christiana Bank: ﬁrst Scandinavian
bank in Luxembourg
• Banco di Napoli International: ﬁrst
Italian bank in Luxembourg
5 June 1939
• International Trade & Investment
Bank: ﬁrst Arabic bank in
Luxembourg
• Creation of the ABBL by ten banks
1974
1987
• East-West United Bank:
ﬁrst Russian bank in
Luxembourg
• NMB Bank: ﬁrst Dutch bank in Luxembourg
• Max Lambert is the ﬁrst ABBL Chairman
• The Industrial Bank of Japan: ﬁrst
Japanese bank in Luxembourg
• TSB Private Bank International: ﬁrst UK
bank in Luxembourg
1993
• Garanti Bank:
ﬁrst Turkish bank
in Luxembourg
2012
• The ABBL is awarded with the INDR’s
CSR label for social responsible
companies
2006
• The ABBL launches the LSF Foundation to
encourage and support the development of
the Luxembourg School of Finance
1945
• ABLV Bank: First Latvian bank in
Luxembourg
ABBL: 1939-2014
1940
• The ABBL suspends its
activities under the occupation
by Nazi Germany
• The ABBL resumes its
activities, particularly
focusing its activities
to issues relating to
dispossessions and
the freezing of assets
during and after the
war
• The Luxembourg Microﬁnance Fund Labelling
Agency (Luxﬂag) is created by the ABBL and
other ﬁnancial centre stakeholders
• The ABBL opens a permanent EU
representative ofﬁce in Brussels, together
with ALFI
1981
• Banco mercantile de Sâo Paulo:
First Brazilian bank in Luxembourg
1989
• The ABBL launches the
“Banklehre”, an on-the-job
training contract
1999
• The Financial Technology Transfer
Agency (ATTF) is set up by the
ABBL and other actors to take
over the IFBL’s international
programmes
1968
• First collective employment
agreement for the banking sector
• The ABBL introduces the check
card (“Carte-Chèque”)
ABBL_LBQ_75ans_270214_bordsperdus.indd 4-5
• The ABBL
institutionalises
Technical Committees
• Creation of the Luxembourg
Deposit Guarantee scheme
AGDL, administratively managed
by the ABBL
2009
• Creation of the ABBL & ALFI
Depository Bank Forum
1972
1967
1994
• Dresdner Bank: ﬁrst German bank in
Luxembourg
• The ABBL sets up the Association for
Health and Safety at the Workplace in
the Financial Sector (ASTF)
• Uniao de Bancos Portugueses: First
Portuguese bank in Luxembourg
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Evolution of the Luxembourg banking sector since 1950
Number of banks per country of origin & Balance sheet total
No. of banks
EUR millions
250
225
Source: IML, BCL, Commissaire au contrôle des banques
200
1000000
Italian
UK
Scandinavian
US
Others
Belgo/Luxembourg
German
French
Dutch
Swiss
800000
Balance sheet total
175
150
600000
125
100
400000
75
50
200000
25
0
0
19
50
19
55
19
60
19
65
19
70
19
75
19
80
19
85
19
90
19
95
20
00
20
05
20
10 012
2
Creation of banks and cessation of activities of banks over the years
No. of banks
Number of banks having ceased activities in a given year
Net total of banks created/having ceased activities in a given year
35
30
30
25
25
20
20
15
15
10
10
5
5
0
0
-5
-5
-10
-10
-15
-15
-20
Source: IML, BCL
Number of banks created in a given year
35
-20
55
50
19
19
70
65
60
19
19
19
75
80
19
85
19
90
19
00
95
19
05
20
19
10
20
20
12
20
Employment in Luxembourg banks
30000
30000
Source: IML, BCL, Commissaire au contrôle des banques
Luxembourgers
Foreigners (residents / non-residents)
Total
25000
25000
20000
20000
15000
15000
10000
10000
5000
5000
0
0
50
19
55
19
ABBL_LBQ_75ans_270214_bordsperdus.indd 6
60
19
65
19
70
19
75
19
80
19
85
19
90
19
95
19
00
20
05
20
10 012
2
20
27/02/14 12:46
The ABBL’s past, present and future managers
The Visionary
The Pioneer
The Guardian
The Pragmatist
Georges Glesener,
(Secretary General,
1963-1991)
Serge de Cillia,
(CEO as of 1 May 2014)
Lucien Thiel,
(General Manager, 1990-2004)
Jean-Jacques Rommes,
(CEO, 2005-2014)
Message from the future CEO
Investing in the future
Luxembourg and its financial sector have fundamentally changed over the past 75 years. Where we were once able to carve out sovereign niches and attract business that sought alternatives to the
restrictive environments at home, we today have to rely almost exclusively on our competencies to provide added value for our international customers. Indeed, our main niche, as well as our core
strength, is being better than others in providing cross-border financial services and products at a global scale.
Luxembourg became the financial centre that it is today because our leaders and the financial sector’s stakeholders were far-sighted enough to anticipate, prepare and accompany international
developments, and specifically regulatory developments at the European level. The ABBL has, of course, played a central role in this context. I am convinced that Luxembourg can continue to play a
leading role in Europe and beyond as an international finance hub. But in order to do so, we must invest in our future. More than ever before, it is crucial to be pro-active and seek out opportunities. In
a globalised financial industry, whose rules have become increasingly harmonised, we can no longer afford to wait for clients and companies to come to Luxembourg.
We therefore need to invest today in the financial centre of tomorrow.
First and foremost, we need to invest in people. In order to stay at the top as a financial centre, our staff must be at the top of their profession. We thus need to attract the most highly skilled staff possible. Importantly, we also need to make sure that our existing workforce continues to evolve with the requirements of the sector. The profession changes at the speed of regulation: our staff must be
able to keep up with this pace. Further education and regular training and refreshing of skills are thus a prerequisite. The world does not stand still, and neither can we.
Retaining and nurturing talent is also a necessity if we want to stay at the leading edge of innovation in our sector. We must invest in creativity and in the development of new
products and services. The world has become more complex, and our clients need efficient solutions to complex problems. As I said before, we have developed unrivalled
expertise in providing these cross-border solutions. We need to built on this strength and remain one step ahead of our competition: if a client has business interests in multiple
jurisdictions, deals in multiple currencies and has to cope with multiple regulatory and fiscal frameworks, then we must make sure that Luxembourg remains his first port of call.
Luxembourg needs to think outside of the box and be an innovation leader, not a follower.
We need to invest in infrastructure. The financial sector has become increasingly reliant on ICT at all levels. Nearly every financial operation today involves some kind of electronic
or digital processing, from granting a loan to booking trades or calculating NAVs. Luxembourg needs to continue to invest in its ICT sector, its data centres, its high-speed
Internet connectivity, and so on. Managing data is big business, and what better place to ensure the secure handling of data than Luxembourg, a large financial centre with an
© ABBL
exceptional PSF structure capable of dealing with the most complex ICT requirements of financial intermediaries?
Finally, we need to invest in putting Luxembourg on the global map. This means investing in promoting and branding Luxembourg as a financial centre and as a country. It also
means going out there and convincing clients and operators why they should choose Luxembourg, why we can offer them an added value that others cannot, why Luxembourg
Serge de Cillia,
is their hub for doing business or investing in Europe. Our quick-decision making and our ability to seek out first mover advantages have always been unique assets. This is no
(CEO of the ABBL
as of 1 May 2014)
time to rest on our laurels and to slow down. On the contrary, we need to step up a gear to make sure that the financial centre of tomorrow can be at least as successful as the
financial centre of yesterday.
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MERCI ALL ONSEN MEMBEREN
ABLV Bank Luxembourg S.A. - ABN AMRO Bank (Luxembourg) S.A. - Advanzia Bank S.A. - Allen & Overy S.C.S. - Andbank Luxembourg - Arendt & Medernach, Avocats à la Cour - Atoz
S.A. - Aurea Finance Company - Avaloq Luxembourg S.à r.l. - avantage Reply (Luxembourg) S.à r.l. - Baker & McKenzie Luxembourg - Banca March, S.A., Luxembourg Branch - Banca
popolare dell’Emilia Romagna (Europe) International S.A. - Banco Bradesco Europa S.A. - Banco Espirito Santo, S.A., Succursale de Luxembourg - Banco Itaú Europa Luxembourg
S.A. - Banco Popolare Luxembourg S.A. - Bank Leumi (Luxembourg) S.A. - Bank of China (Luxembourg) S.A. - Bankinter Luxembourg S.A. - Banque BCP S.A. - Banque Carnegie
Luxembourg S.A. - Banque de Commerce et de Placements S.A., Luxembourg Branch - Banque de Luxembourg - Banque de Patrimoines Privés - Banque Degroof Luxembourg S.A. Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat, Luxembourg - Banque Hapoalim (Luxembourg) S.A. - Banque Havilland S.A. - Banque Internationale à Luxembourg S.A. - Banque J. Safra Sarasin
(Luxembourg) SA - Banque LBLux S.A. - Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild Europe - Banque Raiffeisen - Banque Transatlantique Luxembourg S.A. - BDO - BEMO Europe - Banque
Privée - BGL BNP Paribas S.A. - BHF-BANK International S.A. - Bonn & Schmitt - Bonn Steichen & Partners - Bourse de Luxembourg - Brown Brothers Harriman (Luxembourg) S.C.A. BSI Europe S.A. - Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Succursale de Luxembourg - CapitalatWork Foyer Group S.A. - CASTEGNARO - Catella Bank S.A. - CETREL S.A. - China Construction Bank
(Europe) S.A. - Citco Bank Nederland N.V., Luxembourg Branch - Citibank International plc, Luxembourg Branch - Clearstream Banking - Clifford Chance - Commerzbank International
S.A. - Compagnie de Banque Privée Quilvest S.A. - Cornèr Banque (Luxembourg) S.A. - Credem International (Lux) S.A. - Crédit Agricole Luxembourg - Credit Suisse (Luxembourg)
S.A. - Danske Bank International S.A. - DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Luxembourg S.A. - Delen Private Bank Luxembourg S.A. - Deloitte General Services S.à r.l. - Deutsche Bank
Luxembourg S.A. - Deutsche Postbank International S.A. - DNB Luxembourg S.A. - DZ PRIVATBANK S.A. - East-West United Bank S.A. - EFG Bank (Luxembourg) S.A. - Elvinger, Hoss
& Prussen, Avocats à la Cour - Erste Europäische Pfandbrief- und Kommunalkreditbank A.G. - Eurizon Capital S.A. - Eurobank Private Bank Luxembourg S.A. - EY - Fideuram Bank
(Luxembourg) S.A. - Frankfurter Volksbank International S.A. - Freie Internationale Sparkasse S.A. - Garanti Bank Luxembourg Branch - GPB International S.A. - Grant Thornton Weber
& Bontemps - Hauck & Aufhäuser Privatbankiers KGaA, Niederlassung Luxemburg - HSBC Securities Services (Luxembourg) S.A. - HSH Nordbank Securities S.A. - Hypo Pfandbrief
Bank International S.A. - Hypothekenbank Frankfurt International S.A. - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Europe) S.A. - ING Luxembourg S.A. - J.P. Morgan Bank Luxembourg
S.A. - John Deere Bank S.A. - KBL European Private Bankers S.A. - KPMG Luxembourg S.à r.l. - Kurt Salmon Luxembourg S.A. - La Française Bank - Landesbank Berlin International
S.A. - LBBW Luxemburg S.A. - Linklaters LLP - Lombard Intermediation Services S.A. - Lombard Odier (Europe) S.A. - Loyens & Loeff Luxembourg S.à r.l., Avocats à la Cour - LuxGlobal
Trust Services S.A. - M.M.Warburg & CO Luxembourg S.A. - Mediobanca International (Luxembourg) S.A. - Mitsubishi UFJ Global Custody S.A. - Mizuho Trust & Banking (Luxembourg)
S.A. - Natixis Bank - NautaDutilh Avocats Luxembourg - Nomura Bank (Luxembourg) S.A. - Norddeutsche Landesbank Luxembourg S.A. - Nordea Bank S.A. - Northern Trust Global
Services Limited, Luxembourg Branch - OPF Partners Luxembourg - PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A. - Pictet & Cie (Europe) S.A. - POST Finance - PricewaterhouseCoopers,
Société coopérative - RBC Investor Services Bank S.A. - RBS Global Banking (Luxembourg) S.A. - Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. Luxembourg S.A. - Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken S.A.
- SMBC Nikko Bank (Luxembourg) S.A. - Société Européenne de Banque S.A. - Société Générale Bank & Trust - Standard Chartered Bank, Luxembourg Branch - State Street Bank
Luxembourg S.A. - Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (Luxembourg) S.A. - Svenska Handelsbanken AB (Publ), Luxembourg Branch - TD Bank International S.A. - The Bank of New York
Mellon (Luxembourg) S.A. - UBI Banca International S.A. - UBS (Luxembourg) S.A. - UniCredit International Bank (Luxembourg) S.A. - UniCredit Luxembourg S.A. - Union Bancaire
Privée (Europe) S.A. - Union Investment Luxembourg S.A. - VP Bank (Luxembourg) S.A. - VP LUX S.à r.l. - YAPITAL Financial AG
MERCI ALL ONSEN PARTNER
MERCI ONSEN REGIERUNGEN ZËNTER 1939, ONSEN REGULATEUREN AN DEN STAATLECHEN VERWALTUNGEN
E GROUSSE MERCI UN D’CLIENTEN VUN DER FINANZPLAZ
MERCI LËTZEBUERG
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