Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

A couple of questions are online on Fortis Luxembourg Website. One is very interesting.

Is banking secrecy intact now that the state has an interest in the bank?
Yes. Under the legislation governing the banking sector in Luxembourg, no shareholder has the right to obtain information concerning the bank's commitment to a particular client. Representatives of the state acting in a management capacity or as members of the board of directors may have access to some information, but are themselves subject to the rule of banking secrecy. They would thus be liable to the same criminal penalties as any other agent of the bank if they used such information for any purpose not directly relating to the bank.


In other words, in the current financial mess because of the lack of regulation and of the failure of " the soft law" the most important for professionals in Luxembourg is to ensure that this criteria of tax haven remains for the clients as Luxembourg is not compelled to communicate its clients'data and has no responsibility to control if the tax payer is honest (See Lucien Thiel's doctrine).