CW+ Premium Content/CW EMEA

Luxembourg has long been a major financial centre in Europe, with nearly 130 authorised banks. It is also the second biggest market in the world – behind the US – for investment funds, with more than €5.6bn in net assets being managed in the country. It isn’t surprising that an increasing number of fintech companies are choosing Luxembourg for their European headquarters. The small European country is unique because of the language skills not only among the people working for the different companies, but also among the regulators. The three official languages are French, German and Luxembourgish. But applications and contracts can be written in English – and still be fully recognised by the courts. Switzerland offers similar language advantages, and the ability to use English. But one thing that Switzerland doesn’t have compared to Luxembourg is access to the European market. When a company gets a banking license in Luxembourg, the license can be “passported” to all other EU countries. As part of an overall strategy to capture a...