Ernst & Young

The grand duchy of Luxembourg is the second most popular destination for financial services companies seeking to establish themselves in Europe after the UK gave up its membership of the European Union, consultancy firm EY said in a final update of its Brexit Tracker. EY has crowned Dublin as winner for the location of choice for operational moves.

A comprehensive review by the European Commission has the potential to put the European long-term investment funds (Eltif) regime back on track and set it up for the kind of success Ucits funds have experienced. Eltifs can become competitive with AIFs by removing many factors that made Eltif take-up much lower than had initially been hoped. The investment community has been broadly supportive of the reset.

The four leading international consultancy firms, known as the Big Four, have joined a growing list of companies that this week decided to cut their ties with operations in Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine.

PWC, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young collectively employ some 14.000 staff in Russia. The companies said ties with its Russian business will be severed, letting these operation continue but no longer as part of their networks.

“Spac share prices slump as enthusiasm wanes”, announced the Financial Times on 2 May. On 4 May: “A reckoning for Spacs: will regulators deflate the boom?” Contrast such headlines with the title of a recent event held in Luxembourg “SPAC CRAZE: Why sponsors and targets have become crazy about Luxembourg”.