International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This paper highlights a technical note on Investment Funds: Regulation and Supervision for the Luxembourg Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) has a robust supervisory framework with substantive improvements since the last FSAP, but some areas could be further strengthened. Given the structural importance of delegation for Luxembourg domiciled funds, initiating an on-site inspection framework for delegates outside Luxembourg assumes importance. CSSF’s enforcement framework could be substantially improved through enhancements on four key fronts. CSSF could improve the domestic regulatory framework on areas such as winding up, valuation, and approach to indirectly regulated Alternative Investment Funds AIFs. Given Luxembourg’s position as the domicile of EU’s largest IF sector, CSSF should actively continue to promote and contribute to EU level reforms on various topics. With respect to liquidity risks, CSSF should continue to actively contribute to the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) guidance on the use of Liquidity Management Tools and to engage closely with ESMA and the EU Commission on the proposed revision of the Eligible Assets Directive.
This 2023 Article IV Consultation highlights that Luxembourg has shown resilience in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine and accelerated tightening of global financial conditions, partly helped by fiscal support. Although costly, the measures have helped temporarily keeping inflation below the levels in most euro area peers and limiting the number of wage indexations. Tighter financial conditions have started to affect the financial sector, with heterogeneity across segments. The financial sector, overall, remains resilient, though there are some pockets of vulnerabilities, especially in the real estate sector and non-bank financial institutions. Growth is expected to slow to about 1 percent in 2023, before gradually recovering to its potential percent over the medium term. Headline inflation is likely to moderate further but core inflation is expected to remain persistent. The near-term outlook is highly uncertain. Risks are tilted to the downside and stem from a deeper global slowdown, a de anchoring of inflation expectations, and systemic financial instability at the global level.