Their ambition to innovate is evidenced by their creation of the first ETF in the ’80s and more recently by their acquisition of Charles River which enabled them to create the world’s first global front to back, fund servicing platform.

We spoke to their Senior Managing Director, Vincent Georgel O’Reilly, to hear his views on the current drivers in the market and to understand the banks criteria for future acquisitions.

Understanding the ‘why?’ behind any M&A is essential when judging if it is the right strategy for a firm. Vincent highlights three key reasons; ‘category killer’, ‘bridging the gap’ or ‘accelerating innovation’.

‘if you answer one of these question, right, I think you are going to the right direction. If you are not answering one of these questions, then you’re probably making a mistake.’

He highlights two key drivers at this time, Innovation and especially A.I. in the financial sector. Commenting that companies want to ‘add on capabilities to your existing stack, so that you can come up with some more innovative product.’

He is very positive about the Luxembourg business environment. ‘Luxembourg is quite impressive when it comes to their FinTech environment or even the tech environment in general, I think the government and the marketplace is doing a very good job.’

Click on the podcast for more insights.