Brussels, 02/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - Ending banking secrecycould cost Luxembourg some €15 billion in terms of assets under management and some 2,000 jobs, according to research from Luxembourg's national statistics body Statec, published on Tuesday 1 April.
Statec says some 800 jobs could be lost in the banking sector from the rise in administrative costs due to the introduction of automatic exchange of bank information alone. The research does not include losses due to the flight of capital although it is estimated that some 5% of assets could leave Luxembourg when the new automatic exchange of information rules come into place, in other words, €15 billion in assets, a further 1,000 jobs in the financial sector and between 500 and 1,000 jobs in the wider economy.
In March, Luxembourg and Austria lifted their vetoes on the EU directive to adjust savings tax, extending the scope of the 2003 savings tax directive to other financial products, such as insurance, along with trust funds and foundations. Luxembourg had already announced that it would be ending bank secrecy on January 2015. This newsletter contacted the Luxembourg Finance Ministry, which refused to comment. Austrian Finance Minister Michael Spindelegger said on Wednesday 2 April that a similar impact assessment has not been done for Austria (see separate article). (EL)