50% of respondents in an April 2021 poll “believe the global financial services industry to be resilient in the medium term,” a gain of 7% over October 2020, said Luxembourg for Finance.

Just under a quarter of survey-takers “still see the market environment becoming more volatile” or “expect major risks and disruptions ahead,” Luxembourg for Finance stated on 19 May.

Luxembourg for Finance is a promotion body backed by the government and industry associations. It surveyed “350 C-suite executives and senior managers from Luxembourg’s financial centre”.

Sustainable finance and training

Climate change and sustainable finance were top priorities revealed in the survey. Well over half (60%) expressed “some level of concern about their organisation’s ability to deal with climate change.” However, a clear majority (81%) said they would be able to cope with new EU rules being rolled out over the next 2-5 years.

A large majority (84%) plan to “provide sustainable finance training over the next 2-5 years,” with more than a third (38%) “expecting to ‘significantly upskill’ their workforce.”

Recruitment and office space

More than a third (35%) of financial sector managers thought firms would recruit more front office staff in Luxembourg, while a small minority reckoned middle (8%) and back office (16%) headcount would be cut. At the same time, Luxembourg for Finance noted that “44% of the respondents are ‘not confident at all’ or ‘not really confident’ in their organisation’s ability in attracting and retaining talent.”

There was some consensus that the amount of office space occupied by the financial sector in Luxembourg would not shift by much after the crisis. Roughly a quarter (23%) reckoned it would shrink and just 8% predicted it would increase.