Sector

Institutional investment portfolios in Europe could do with more venture capital, especially when it comes to making green impact investments, the Netherlands’ technology investment envoy Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau said in an IO Talks podcast interview. Van Oranje, who leads Amsterdam-based Techleap, a Dutch government sponsored tech investment initiative, spoke about the global business climate for technology investments, the effects of rising interest rates on tech investments, dilemmas around artificial intelligence, and the new Nato Investment Fund, which is being structured via Luxembourg.

In 1908, there were 16,000 Luxembourgish immigrants living in Chicago. They were extremely poor and needed to emigrate to survive. Today, people emigrate to Luxembourg for different reasons. It’s more about thriving rather than surviving.

Without immigration, there would be no fund industry, there is a constant need to attract talent from abroad. Amazingly, only 20% of the local population works in the private sector. Probably even less in the fund industry.

The top representative of the City of London Corporation on Tuesday began a two-day visit to Luxembourg that includes meetings with Luxembourg for Finance, financial regulator CSSF, the finance ministry and representatives of the grand duchy’s banking sector.

A recent European Commission proposal to oblige EU-based eligible counterparties to hold an active account at an EU central counterparty clearing house has raised temperatures in some quarters in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg’s banking sector is asking data protection and financial services authorities to provide more clarity on the use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT. Presenting its survey on the use of ChatGPT, bank sector group ABBL on Thursday said 38 per cent of bank employees are currently blocked from using such tools, which is significantly more than the average of 24 percent for the sector as a whole.

Current efforts to address global biodiversity loss are inadequate and face a financing gap of between 598 billion and 824 billion dollars per year, a new study has concluded. To address this gap, governments and businesses need to support the introduction of ‘biodiversity credit markets’, to be modelled in a manner similar to the carbon credit markets that already exist.

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. 

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.

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%.