Documentary and book for the 75th anniversary of the financial supervision

Luxembourg supervision, financial centre and economy: three closely linked topics

According to Pierre Gramegna, Minister of Finance: “The financial sector remains, today, the leading sector of our economy and an efficient regulation is the guarantee of its success. Today, the CSSF has almost a thousand employees, almost twice as much as seven years ago. This illustrates the importance of this institution and its contribution to the reputation of our financial centre. In these times of crisis especially, a solid financial centre is one of the driving forces to ensure a lasting recovery of our country.” The financial centre took off in the 60s of the last century. Few people believed in its success and it was jeopardised on several occasions. Nevertheless, the private banking sector and the investment fund sector are still flourishing. Today, the financial sector represents 30% of the GDP of the Grand-Duchy and almost 50,000 jobs. Developments in the regulatory framework have given fresh impetus to the financial sector. Similarly, the legislator and the supervisory authorities had to respond to national and international events and, thus, shaped the financial landscape. The book and the documentary invite to discover these interconnections. Claude Marx, Director General of the CSSF, indicated: “With this initiative, we would like to contribute to the scientific research on the historical development of financial regulations and also to a better knowledge and understanding of the Luxembourg financial sector and its evolution.” This initiative falls also within the context of the decision taken by the CSSF in 2015 to add its archives to the Archives Nationales du Luxembourg and to open its archives to researchers.

A scientific contribution to research on the financial centre

The book “Surveillance, indépendance et intégrité. 75ème anniversaire du contrôle prudentiel et de la surveillance de la place financière au Luxembourg” (Supervision, independence and integrity. 75th anniversary of the prudential control and supervision of the Luxembourg financial centre) was published by the CSSF in collaboration with the C2DH (University of Luxembourg). It contains a detailed chronology setting out in about a hundred pages the events which marked the evolution of the financial supervision in Luxembourg, the financial centre and the Luxembourg economy in general, as well as scientific papers, signed, among others, by the historians Benoît Majerus, Benjamin Zenner and Christopher Kopper. The book will be available in bookshops and in libraries. Claude Conter, Director of the BnL, specified: “Being both, guardian of the written heritage and a multidisciplinary research library, the BnL is the perfect place to present, for the first time, this scientific work which documents the economic history of the country as well as its future development.” Sam Tanson, Minister of Culture, indicated: “The development of Luxembourg as a financial centre is an integral part of its history and its culture and deserves to be explored in all its facets via this significant publication.”

A testimonial documentary

The documentary “La surveillance de la place financière (1945-2020): une histoire inédite! D’Iwwerwaachung vun der Finanzplaz (1945-2020) – eng onerzielte Geschicht!” (Supervision of the financial centre (1945-2020): an untold story!) was sponsored by the CSSF, directed by Claude Lahr and produced by PTD-Paul Thiltges Distributions and looks back, through historical and personal testimonies of representatives and players of the financial centre, at the major developments with respect to the supervision. The film is also a valuable testimony on the development of the Luxembourg financial centre. It is included in the book.