Agefi Luxembourg - octobre 2026

V ingt ans après sa création, Brucher Thieltgen & Partners franchit une nouvelle étape de son histoire. De­ venu un cabinet multidisciplinaire réunis­ sant près de 60 professionnels, l’étude célèbre aujourd’hui une croissance construitedans ladurée, portéepar ledéve­ loppement de ses expertises, la structuration de sonorganisation, l’agrandissement de ses locaux et une identitédemarque renouvelée. Brucher Thieltgen & Partners a célébré, le 17 sep­ tembre, son 20 e anniversaire aux côtés de près de 200 clients, partenaires, confrères et collaborateurs réunis dans les jardins de l’étude. L’histoire du cabinet commence à la fin de l’année 2005, lorsque Jean Brucher, Marie Bena et Nicolas Thieltgen quittent ensemble un cabinet américain afin de bâtir leur propre projet au Luxembourg. Brucher & Associés voit le jour en 2006, avant de devenir Brucher Thieltgen&Partners en 2010. Nicolas Bernardy rejoint l’étude dès 2006 en qualité deJuniorAssociateetaccède10ansplustardaupart­ nership.Sonparcoursincarneunedimensionessen­ tielle de l’histoire du cabinet, celle d’une croissance quis’estaussiconstruiteenfaisantévoluersestalents dans la durée. Cette logique se poursuit avecAnne­ Marie Ka, devenue Partner en 2023, puis Philippe Sylvestre en 2024. Aufildesannées,BrucherThieltgen&Partnersélar­ gitsesexpertises,renforceseséquipesetaccompagne une clientèle de plus en plus internationale sur des dossierstoujourspluscomplexes.L’arrivéed’Alexan­ dre Gas en qualité de Directeur exécutif en 2018 marque également une étape structurante, avec le développement progressif des différentes fonctions support destinées à accompagner la croissance et la professionnalisationde l’étude. Le cabinet réunit aujourd’hui près de 60profession­ nels. Cette évolutionse reflète jusquedans sesmurs. Installé depuis 2022 aux 16 et 18 boulevard Emmanuel Servais, Brucher Thieltgen & Partners vientd’étendreseslocauxaunuméro20,consolidant ainsi son implantation au cœur de Luxembourg et se donnant les moyens d’accompagner les pro­ chaines étapes de sondéveloppement. Nicolas Thieltgen, Managing Partner : « En vingt ans, le cabinet a profondément évolué, mais notre ambitiondemeure inchangée, celledegrandir sans perdre la proximité, l’exigence et la dimension hu­ maine qui fondent notre identité. Cet anniversaire célèbreavanttoutlesfemmesetleshommesquiont contribué à construire l’étude, les relations nouées aufildesannéesetlaconfiancequenosclientsnous accordent. » Ce vingtième anniversaire s’accompagne égale­ ment d’une nouvelle identité visuelle, pensée pour traduireavecdavantagede justesselecabinetqu’est devenu Brucher Thieltgen&Partners. Le nouveau symbole associe les lettres B, T et P dans une construction contemporaine, tandis que le vert his­ toriquement liéà l’étude sedéploiedésormaisdans ununiversgraphique enrichi denouvellesnuances et d’une touche de jaune. Cerebrandings’accompagnedulancementdunou­ veausitebtplawyers.lu, entièrement repenséafinde mieux présenter les expertises, les équipes et la cul­ turede l’étude, tout enoffrant une lectureplus claire desonpositionnementauprèsd’uneclientèleluxem­ bourgeoise et internationale. Pour célébrer ses vingt premières années, le cabi­ net a choisi le thème « TheArt of Connection », en écho aux liens professionnels et humains qui ont façonné son histoire. Une artiste a réalisé une œuvre en direct au cours de la soirée, tandis que vingt tableaux retraçant vingt années demoments marquants, de personnalités et d’anecdotes ont été présentés aux invités. Àtraverscettecélébration,BrucherThieltgen&Part­ ners a voulu rappeler que l’histoire d’un cabinet ne se mesure pas seulement à sa croissance, à ses dos­ siers ou à ses résultats, mais également à la qualité desrelationsqu’ilconstruit,entretientettransmetau fil du temps. Brucher Thieltgen & Partners célèbre 20 ans de développement et ouvre un nouveau chapitre Octobre 2026 41 AGEFI Luxembourg Emploi & Droit By Ivaylo MARKOV, Managing Partner of Thales Capital T he economic landscape in mid2026 mirrors contradic­ tions in the Luxembourg fi­ nancial sector. On the other hand, employment in the banking and finance sector has soared to levels not seen for more than a decade, with more than 26,500 professionals currently employed by the Grand Duchy’s credit institutions. In contrast, the operational utility of this sector for corporate clients, like the ability to open and maintain a bank account, has arguably never been lower. At Thales Capital, we are seeing the practical effects of this trend week after week, with our advisory desksbeinginundatedwithLuxembourgdomiciled companies, and not only, completely bypassing the local banking sector and seeking operational ac­ counts inSingapore,HongKongand theCaribbean. This banking flight is not a nuisance. It is a warning of a deepening structural inefficiency that could threaten toeat awayat theverycompetitiveness that hasmade Luxembourg a global financial center. The paradox of employment more bankers, less banking The numbers show that Luxembourg is a success story. The financial sector continues to be the main engineof theGrandDuchy’s economy,withavalue­ add per employee well above that of its regional peers. Butwhat has changed is thenatureof this em­ ployment. The growth in headcount is not among facilitators, people who help businesses grow, but among gatekeepers. The vast majority of new hires aredirectedintoCompliance,AntiMoneyLaunder­ ing (AML) and regulatory reporting departments. We’rehiringanarmy towatch thedoorsbut actually we’re not building the doors. The European context a continental pandemic It is important to point out that this is not a problem forLuxembourgonly.Thecompliancewallissweep­ ing Europe. The introduction of new EU Anti­ Money LaunderingAuthority (AMLA) framework leaves banks inGermany, Ireland and France strug­ gling to balance operational speed with stringent oversight. The Dublin/Frankfurt comparison is a great exam­ pleDublinandFrankfurthavesimilarKYC(Know YourCustomer)bottlenecks.However,theirbank­ ing sectors are often blessedwith a more diversi­ fied retail base that crosssubsidizes corporate onboarding. But Luxembourg is heavily depend­ ent on niche crossborder corporate structures. When you have banks here applying a one­ sizefitsall risk assessment to these com­ plicatedinternationalbusinesses,youget an automatic systemic rejection. Solving the friction theRegTechdivide There are two different ways of tack­ ling these bottlenecks taking shape across the EU: The Utility model (the Netherlands and Nordic hubs): Countries like theNetherlands really pushing hard for shared KYC utilities where data is verified once and shared across a secure, federated network. This reduces the burden on the client (provides data once) and the bank (takes a standardverification). The FintechLed onboarding (the UK and some Nordicbanks):ThesehubsarerollingoutAIlediden­ tity verification that enables nearinstant onboarding for business entities that meet standardised risk pro­ files. But Luxembourg, in contrast, has remained at­ tachedtolegacyprocesses.The2026reforms,suchas the law allowing the creation of a Société à respons­ abilité limitée (SARL)without an initial bankaccount ,wereastepintherightdirection,buttheyaddressed the incorporationhurdle, not the operational one. Record employment numbers in Luxembourg’s banking sector are a sign of the industry’s focus on safetytoo,buttheywillbecomeasignofobsolescence if we keep using this human capital to build higher walls instead of faster doors or even build the doors as previously mentioned. To reverse this paradox, Luxembourgneeds to lookaround, take anexample, whynot, for neighboursb andpeers and try to: Implement proportionality The industry needs to change its current “derisking” culture of not taking on clients to avoid any possible scrutiny. Regulatory bodies need to provide clearer guidelines to enable bankstoservicemidsizedinternationalentitieswith­ out the risk of disproportionate sanctions for minor KYCdiscrepancies. Invest in shared KYC utilities The Grand Duchy should take the lead in the EU for the creation of a standardized, blockchainverified digital identity for corporate entities. If a company is alreadyverifiedby a Luxembourg regulator or a Tier1 auditor then that shouldbe portable across the local banking sector. Shift focus to digital onboarding If a bank can ap­ provearetailmortgageinminutes,there’snotechnical reason for an eightweek corporate onboarding process. The technology is there, but the industry mandate to adopt it is not. A legislative response to the incorporationbottleneck Recently,Luxembourghasmadetheabovesaidprac­ tical move to reduce the dependency of newcompa­ nies on the banking system at the very beginning of their corporate lifecycle. The Law of 18 May 2026, whichcame into forceon2 June 2026, allows anewly incorporated société à responsabilité limitée (SARL) to defer the payment of itsminimumshare capital of €12,000 for a periodof up to 12months. This implies that founders do not have to deposit the capital in a bank account before the signing of the incorporation deed anymore. Therefore, in these cases, the notary does not need to obtain the blocking certificate from the bank, which is nor­ mally required as evidence that the share capital has been deposited, at the incorporation stage. The change is significant because it cuts the procedural link between the formation of the legal entity and the completion of the onboarding process of the bank. In the past, a founder could be ready to in­ corporate but still be dependent on the bank’s in­ ternal compliance,AMLand riskprocedures before the notary could close the deal. In reality, this often led to a circular process, as the company needed to exist to operate, but the bank wanted extensive in­ formation before opening the account and issuing the blocking certificate. The new regime does not abolish the obligation to pay the capital. It changes the timing, instead. The SARL must still fulfill the statutory conditions and pay the capital within the permitted time. The re­ form should therefore be seen as a mechanism to separatelegalformationfrombankingactivation,not as a weakening of the rules on capital maintenance or corporate responsibility. This is an important recognition fromamarket per­ spective that incorporation shouldnot be hostage to the speed of bank onboarding. It offers entrepre­ neurs, investment managers and technology busi­ nesses a legal vehicle earlier in the process so they can start contractual, operational and regulatory preparationswhile thebanking relationship isbeing finalised.Italsohelpstorelievetheimmediateeffects of the banking bottleneck outlined above, particu­ larly for smaller businesses and digital native ven­ tures, which may be subject to disproportionate delays when opening a traditional account. But the reform has its limits. It relates to the SARL regime and does not mean that any Luxembourg companycanbeincorporatedwithoutpaidupcapital or without subsequent banking facilities. It does not do awaywith the need for a bank account where the companyhastocarryoutordinarycommercialactiv­ ity, receive investor funds, or complywithregulatory, tax or operational requirements. The bottleneck has thereforebeenshifted,noteliminated,asthebankac­ count may not be a requirement for incorporation anymore, but it is still needed for the company to be able to operate. Nevertheless, the direction of travel is clear. Luxem­ bourg is starting to uncouple the creation of a com­ panyfromtheactivationofitsbankinginfrastructure. That difference is of commercial significance. This al­ lows the jurisdiction tomaintain strongAMLand fi­ nancialcrime controls, but avoid a situation where legitimate businesses are blocked from entering the market simplybecause abankhas not yet completed its onboardingprocess. The banking flight AtThalesCapital,ourroletodayisoneofthesocalled emergencytriagesfortheadvisorycommunitytohelp clients navigate a systemthat is failing to provide the basic utility of banking. But this is not a workable model. If Luxembourg does not modernise its ap­ proachtobusinessbankingitwilllosetheveryentities ithasworkedhardtoattract.Weareapproachedona weekly basis by companies based in Luxembourg, some with large international holdings, who need helpopening accounts abroad. Why do they walk out? The reason is the Luxem­ bourg delay, among other minor ones, of course. A simple corporate account can take 8 to 12weeks, and that’s often an eternity to a modern business. For a companyengagedininternationaltradeorprivateeq­ uity, this delay is a direct hit to the bottom line. More and more clients are looking at the Luxembourg banking sector as a “compliancefirst, utilitysecond” environment.Sothepathofleastresistanceinthemar­ ket is for domestic banks to see all nonstandard cor­ porate structures as highrisk outliers. That route is currently going away fromLuxembourg. The reformof deferred capital for SARLs shows that onewaytounblockthebankingbottleneckisnotnec­ essarily to force banks to process every file more quickly,buttomakesurethatcompanycreationdoes not depend entirely on the banking systemfromday one.Butwhatstillworkstoouradvantageisthat,any­ way,Luxembourgisoneoftheworld’sleadingfinan­ cial centers. But the prestige of the past decade is no guarantee of the prosperity of the next, for example. For us to keep our competitive edgewe need to stop lookingatourbankersasjustcomplianceofficersand start empowering them to be the facilitators of com­ merce theywere first hired to be. The Luxembourg Paradox - record hiring amidst a banking bottleneck