The Luxembourg government has officially submitted its bid to host the European Banking Authority (EBA). Thus Luxembourg follows a call for offers by the European Council published in June. A European capital, already home to the EU’s judicial and financial institutions, and the Euro area’s leading financial centre, Luxembourg is the natural choice to host the EBA.
Based in London, the EBA, together with the European Medicines Agency is directly affected by the decision of the UK to leave the European Union and will have to be located in a European Member State by March 2019, the date of the UK’s official withdrawal from the EU.
With its diverse banking industry covering the entire range of services from corporate & investment banking, private banking, custody and trustee services to fund management, listing and post-trading services, Luxembourg serves as the EU hub and competence centre for numerous international banks. It is therefore not surprising that Luxembourg ranks as the Euro area’s leading international financial centre (GFCI 2017). Not only does Luxembourg serve as a gateway to the EU market, but also as an international platform for European banks with a global reach.