The Grand Duchy’s financial sector needs to make significant investments in digital technology, while still digesting the raft of post-crisis regulations, attendees heard.
In their speeches Pierre Gramegna, the finance minister, and Claude Marx, the managing director of the financial regulator CSSF, both welcomed the adaptation of new technologies. That includes the blockchain, which William Mougayar, a venture capitalist and author, called the “new Google”.
At the moment, blockchain and bitcoin are still somewhat buzzwordy, “but the potential, which is notable for the financial industry,” will exceed expectations, predicted Benjamin Colette, a partner at Deloitte. “The real added value of blockchain is to remove unnecessary layers and focus on the essentials, namely the reduction of costs and improved efficiency.”
That could, of course, help bring down operating costs. Overall net results for the Grand Duchy’s banks were down 6% in 2015, according to the banking industry trade group ABBL. At the same time, regulatory compliance costs rose 8.5%.
The conference took place at the Philharmonie on 14 June.
Reported by Thierry Raizer; edited by Aaron Grunwald