Senior figures from Luxembourg’s fund industry gathered at Banque de Luxembourg for the third edition of DepoBank Day, a Baker McKenzie Luxembourg forum dedicated to the regulatory, operational and market developments affecting depositary services.
The event brought together the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), Luxembourg’s financial sector supervisory authority, alongside depositary institutions, auditors, management companies, alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) and industry associations. Discussions focused on how regulation, market expectations and operating models are reshaping the role of depositaries in one of Europe’s leading investment fund centres.
The programme opened with a regulatory Q&A featuring CSSF representatives. Subsequent sessions examined cooperation between depositaries, auditors, management companies and AIFMs; the priorities of market associations; and the challenges facing depositary institutions. A dedicated panel also explored the practical and regulatory specificities of professional depositaries of assets other than financial instruments (PDAOFIs).
More than 20 speakers and moderators from regulatory bodies, financial institutions, audit firms, asset servicers and professional associations contributed to the programme, reflecting the breadth of the issues now facing the sector.
“The depositary is that fund service provider expected to safe-keep the fund's assets, supervise, verify, challenge, escalate, document, report to auditors and regulators, and appears as a watchdog for investors, and when things turn less well, sometimes also the deep pocket. Our annual event gives regulators and market participants a dedicated forum in which to discuss the developments of the depositary status and consider how the sector should respond.” - Laurent Fessmann, Partner, Baker McKenzie Luxembourg.
Baker McKenzie Luxembourg’s Laurent Fessmann, Partner, Ana Vazquez, Counsel, and Rafael de Vega Pascual, Senior Associate, moderated key sessions. Banque de Luxembourg hosted the 2026 edition.
Contributors included: Andrea Gentilini, Pierre Le Gardien and Laurent van Burik (CSSF); Laurent Born (BNY); Nicolas Grillot (PwC Luxembourg); Christian Hertz (Altum Management Company); Engin Ircag (KPMG Luxembourg); Pascale Kohl (Citibank Europe plc, Luxembourg); Bob Schaminé (CACEIS); Nils Cullen (Brown Brothers Harriman); Ann De Vos (State Street Bank International GmbH, Luxembourg Branch); Jean-Pierre Gomez (Société Générale Securities Services Luxembourg); Guglielmo Manzoni (HSBC Continental Europe, Luxembourg); Michael Mekhaeel, CFA, FRM (RBSI Depositary Services); Franck Wassmer (UBS Europe SE, Luxembourg Branch); François Baratte (ALFI); Brenda Bol (Cecabank); Maxime Perrin (J.P. Morgan Luxembourg); Pierre Mifsud, MSc (Vistra); Gilles Moreau (Alter Domus); Karolina Seklecka (TMF Group); and Vincent Wilhelm (Banque de Luxembourg).