A Luxembourg finance chief who met with officials from the UK government, including the Treasury, this week says Luxembourg wants to maintain the long-standing financial services partnership between the two countries.
Nicolas Mackel, chief executive of Luxembourg for Finance, said British and Luxembourgish interests in financial services have always been “very much aligned” and that it was in no-one’s interests for this to end when Britain leaves the EU.
There was no sign from Mackel that Luxembourg intends a difficult divorce over Brexit, such as by proposing laws obstructive to UK financial services firms. Saying there could be certain activities by City firms that may be affected after the Brexit, Mackel said Luxembourg aimed to aid firms to carry on with as little disruption as possible.
“We are asking how we can help you as a partner; we are not saying you must set up your HQ here [in Luxembourg],” Mackel told Funds Europe.
He added: “All people we have spoken to say they want a situation after Brexit as close as possible to the situation we have now, and everyone agrees with that.”
Pierre Gramegna, Luxembourg’s minister of finance, led the Luxembourg delegation, which met with City representatives of asset management and banking firms, as well as government officials from the Treasury.
Luxembourg for Finance is an agency that supports the Grand Duchy’s development as a financial centre.
©2016 funds europe
