Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

There are many videos on Youtube with the same motto: Don't bank on the Isle of Man

Isle of may is on the OECD white list and presents itself as a leading and well regulated international financial centre with a proactive and innovative approach to business.

Clients now know what do mean a so-called well regulated international financial center.

 A couple of videos from youtube:

John Christensen – Director Tax Justice Network - and Peter Niggli – Director Alliance Sud – are invited in Luxembourg for a conference about Financial flows south-north and financing of the development.

Both were speakers in Bern last June with a representative of the Cercle de Cooperation.


The conference will take place on 13 October 2009 at 20.00.

The conference is organised by Action Solidarité Tiers Monde - ASTM, le Cercle de Coopération des ONG with Etika - Initiativ fir alternativ Finanzéierung.

It is good because it demonstrates that NGOs resist despite an unacceptable pressure from the politicians and professionals in Luxembourg.



From the ABBL point of view:
- John Christensen and Peter Niggli will assimilate very diverse issues such as tax fraud, tax competition, Money laundering, the problematic of North-South relations and intra-European discussions on the taxation of savings. They will insinuate that financial centres like Luxembourg feature tax practices and mechanisms that would set them apart as tax havens.
- John Christensen and Peter Niggli will attack the flagship of the Luxembourg economy via an unhealthy combination of gratuitous assertions, hearsay, half-truths and concocted lies


That is probably the reason why the ABBL does not advertise this conference.

It actually advertises another conference on 21 October 2009 where Jean-Jacques Rommes, its director, will be speaker: Ethics and money: an eternal conflict?


He is the one that said to comment a typical tax evasion case through a Luxembourg bank and a scam through Panama that “It is not the banker who started”.


It is true ass well for dubious wealthy individuals from poor countries that went and probably are still going in the “Luxembourg banking system” where they know they are welcome all the more than there is no tax agreement between Luxembourg and their jurisdiction to request information : IT IS NOT THE BANKER WHO STARTED.

Hide this dubious money that I do not want to see…

Source of the picture: Wappas.

A new version of the Luxembourg Code of Goverance.

“The Ten Principles of Corporate Governance of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange” has recently undergone a general revision and the new version is now available. This revised version has been validated by the board of directors of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and enters into force on 1 October 2009.

The new version has maintained the original structure of the ten principles by continuing to rely on three sets of rules: principles (“ comply ”); recommendations (“ comply or explain ”), that is to say apply or explain if they do not apply; and finally guidelines.

These ten principles therefore represent a framework of corporate governance that is highly flexible and suitable for all types of businesses operating in Luxembourg.

Unfortunately they did not change the critical point for the 9^th principle

Integrity is not a principle but a recommendation: the 9th recommendation under the 9th principle, which requires "strict rules": all the companies that were involved in the scandals of the last years had "strict rules". The Luxembourg code of governance still allows company to find reasons why integrity of accounts should not be applicable.

Additionally the word "stakeholders" is only quoted in the preamble, but not in the core text. Especially, the 9^th principle states that « The board will establish strict rules, designed to protect the company’s interests, in the areas of financial reporting, internal control and risk management ». I thought, from a governance and CSR point of view, it was the stakeholders’ interest that had to be protected.

Read press release

Read Code