Investment Officer

André Bauler, member of the Luxembourg parliament for the Democratic Party, on Friday was appointed by the parliament’s finance and budget committee to coordinate the different political positions for the upcoming discussions on a proposal to update the grand duchy’s investment fund laws.

Although usage of artificial intelligence in the Luxembourg financial sector is currently fairly limited and still at an early stage, the grand duchy is set for wider adoption of artificial intelligence in the near future, according to a survey carried out by BCL, the central bank, and financial supervisor CSSF.

Luxembourg financial supervisor CSSF on Thursday announced a more flexible deadline for filing reports on marketing materials in relation to the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, or SFDR. 

The European Central Bank on Thursday began to slow down its pace of rate hikes, announcing an increase of 25 basis points following seven back-to-back increases of 50 basis points. The ECB said that underlying price pressures in the 20 Eurozone countries remain strong.

Banque Havilland, a Luxembourg private bank owned by British property developer David John Rowland, has sold its depository and custody business for an undisclosed amount to Spain’s Banco Inversis as part of a new strategy in which it fully focuses on private banking. 

A fresh flash estimate for inflation in the 20 eurozone countries and the latest ECB bank lending data shows that higher interest rates are slowing down economic growth in Europe, fuelling expectations among fixed income analysts and economists of a smaller rate increase of 25 basis points - following six consecutive hikes of 50 basis points - when the ECB’s monetary policy decides is next step on Thursday.

The Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, one of the world’s largest property investment funds, in April accepted 29 per cent of 4.5 billion dollars worth in redemption requests. The fund told investors on Monday that it decided to fulfil 1.3 billion, less than a third, of these requests to sell.

Luxembourg is set to modernise its legislation for investment funds under a proposal that will first be discussed later this week in the grand duchy’s parliament. The bill seeks to improve the various structuring options for investment funds. 

The parliament budget and finance committee on Friday will discuss Bill 8183, which was submitted at the end of March. At the 5 May meeting the committee is due to appoint a rapporteur who will coordinate the legislation.

First-quarter net income at Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager, fell 7.5 percent to 300 million euro when compared to the same period last year, “in line with the unfavourable evolution of the market,” the company said on Friday.

The firm nevertheless referred to a “strong performance” as a result of the diversification of its activities and its operational efficiency and good cost control.

Grand Duchy banks are taking action to prepare for an economic downturn, according to bank sector association ABBL. 

At its annual general meeting on Thursday, the organisation noted that rising interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty have caused households and companies to become reluctant investors. Banks began setting aside more provisions last year in order to cover increased risk of credit defaults - a move already reflected in 2022 figures with an increase of over 400%.