ع
The third DepoBank Day, hosted by Baker McKenzie at Banque de Luxembourg, assembled leading voices from across the fund, custody and depositary ecosystem including representatives from the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, the Association of the Luxembourg Bankers, the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry and the Luxembourg Private Equity Association. Discussions centred on the future of the European depositary framework, updates to securities law and the rise of tokenisation, according to a post-event article published by the Association of the Luxembourg Bankers. Luxembourg’s depositary model has long relied on proximity, legal certainty and strong investor protection, a framework the sector now seeks to adapt to more integrated European markets and increasingly digital financial assets.
An assessment by the Association of the Luxembourg Bankers that drew on the 1 October 2026 sessions noted that innovation for depositary banks does not require rewriting rules from scratch. Instead the focus lies in making the established model more efficient, interoperable and equipped for digital assets while preserving the legal and supervisory foundations that support the country’s fund industry. The tension between modernisation and safeguarding investor protections ran through the day’s debates, the Association of the Luxembourg Bankers reported.
Brenda Bol, chair of the Association of the Luxembourg Bankers Depositary Banking Cluster and a member of its board of directors, stated that the direction of travel is clear. Bol added that greater integration and innovation should strengthen the existing model rather than dilute the protections it provides. The sessions also addressed practical challenges facing professional depositaries of assets other than financial instruments together with the role of credit institutions acting as depositaries.
Marilyn Rinck, head of banking regulation, financial markets and ESG at the Association of the Luxembourg Bankers, and Andrey Martovoy, the association’s senior adviser for innovation and digital, co-authored the review of DepoBank Day. Their article emphasised that Luxembourg’s depositary banks aim to maintain the safeguards built after past financial crises while preparing for a more digital market environment. Tokenisation and related technologies figured prominently as both an opportunity and a test for the existing supervisory architecture.
Industry associations participating in the event examined how European regulatory developments could affect the passporting of depositary services and the delegation of certain functions to central securities depositories. The discussions highlighted the need for the depositary role to evolve in tandem with technological change without eroding the legal certainty that has supported Luxembourg’s position as a leading European fund domicile. Further panels considered operational specificities and regulatory expectations that depositaries face in an environment of rapid innovation.
The annual gathering has grown since its first edition in 2024, when it drew more than 120 stakeholders to review custody laws and depositary liabilities in the wake of the 2010 financial crisis. This year’s programme featured contributions from depositary institutions, auditors, management companies and regulatory officials, reinforcing dialogue across the sector. Participants left with updated perspectives on aligning traditional safeguards with the demands of tokenised assets and cross-border integration.
