# BIL: Luxembourg's oldest bank with two booking hubs > BIL — Luxembourg's oldest bank with €50bn AuM: Luxembourg and Switzerland booking hubs, the 2025 Paris branch, Legend Holdings ownership, the 2020 CSSF fine and FGDL protection. Last modified: 2026-10-19T00:00:00.000Z Canonical: https://wiki.private.law/en/bil-banque-internationale-luxembourg Publisher: wiki.private.law (https://wiki.private.law) Version: 088416e6f88b467ae5bc816aa9af47e1f029aa1a841053d766ba6c3bc2139b34 Cite as: BIL: Luxembourg's oldest bank with two booking hubs. wiki.private.law. https://wiki.private.law/en/bil-banque-internationale-luxembourg. Version 088416e6f88b467ae5bc816aa9af47e1f029aa1a841053d766ba6c3bc2139b34. Topics: banking Jurisdictions: luxembourg, switzerland, france Functional tags: private-banking Product tags: bank, wealth-planning, investment, custody, lombard-credit, family-office Semantic tags: private-banking, bank, wealth-planning, investment, custody, lombard-credit, family-office --- ## Concept **Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL)** is Luxembourg's oldest bank (1856), a universal bank with a strong private banking arm. **Type**: a systemically important bank supervised by the ECB (SSM) and the CSSF; ~90% owned by Hong Kong's [Legend Holdings](https://www.bil.com/en/bil-group/pressroom/news/Pages/legend-holdings-receives-regulatory-approval-for-acquisition-of-banque-internationale-a-luxembourg.aspx) (since 2018, at a €1.48bn valuation), ~10% by the Luxembourg state. The CEO since May 2024 is Jeffrey Dentzer. Ratings: S&P A–/Negative, Moody's A2/Stable. Per Legend Holdings' 2026 interim report, [it held 89.98% of BIL at 30 June 2026](https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2026/0922/2026092200438.pdf). ## History and evolution Founded on 8 March 1856; it co-financed the creation of ARBED and Clearstream and underwrote the first eurobond (1963). The Dexia era ended in rescue: in 2012 the bank was sold to Precision Capital (90%) and the Luxembourg state (10%). Legend Holdings bought the stake in 2018. Perimeter reshaping 2015–2026: Singapore closed (2015), Denmark transferred to Ringkjøbing Landbobank (2021), the DIFC branch licence withdrawn (2021), the Hong Kong office closed (January 2025), fund administrator BIL Manage Invest [sold to Waystone](https://www.bil.com/en/bil-group/pressroom/news/Pages/Waystone-to-acquire-BIL-Manage-Invest.aspx) (completed October 2025) and the Belair House family office closed (2025); at the same time a [Paris private-banking branch](https://paperjam.lu/article/la-bil-ouvre-une-succursale-de-banque-privee-a-paris) opened on 3 July 2025. Assets under management reached [€50.1bn at end-2025 (+7%)](https://www.bil.com/en/bil-group/pressroom/news/Pages/bil-delivers-strong-2025-financial-results.aspx), with net income of €210m (+24%); CET1 is 14.46%. > 🍓 Deposits at BIL S.A. are covered by the [FGDL: €100,000 per depositor](https://www.cssf.lu/en/deposit-guarantee/), with payout within 7 working days; temporary high balances up to €2.5m. BIL (Suisse) — esisuisse CHF 100,000; custody securities are segregated. ## Regulation - **ECB / CSSF** — BIL S.A., Luxembourg; - **FINMA** — Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (Suisse) SA (Zurich, Geneva, Lugano; since 1985); - the Paris branch operates under BIL S.A.'s EU passport; the Beijing representative office conducts no banking. ## Source of funds and compliance The EU standard applies: identification, beneficial owners, [source of funds and source of wealth](https://wiki.private.law/source-of-funds), CRS/FATCA. Dated episodes: in March 2020 the [CSSF fined BIL €4.6m](https://www.bil.com/en/bil-group/pressroom/news/Pages/BIL-reinforced-its-compliance-framework.aspx) for AML process weaknesses identified in 2017–2018 inspections (the bank stated no money-laundering activity was identified and completed a remediation program); in 2024 investigators linked Dexia-era BIL accounts to the embezzlement from the International Bank of Azerbaijan — no new sanction followed. > 💡 Prepare the source-of-wealth file in advance: sale of a business, dividends, inheritance. The mechanics are covered in the guide on [documenting source of funds](https://wiki.private.law/source-of-funds). ## Who it serves - **HNW clients**: no official minimum is published; industry references cite ~€1m for Luxembourg private banking (unofficial); - **non-residents** booking in Luxembourg or Switzerland — the group's two wealth hubs; - **entrepreneurs and family offices** — BIL Suisse Global Advisory with structured-lending deals of €10–100m; - French clients — via the new Paris branch (since 2025). ## Services ### Wealth management - BIL Serenio discretionary management and BIL Advisio advisory; - private markets and bespoke strategies. ### Lending - [lombard loans](https://wiki.private.law/lombard-lending), real-estate finance, yacht finance and international mortgages; - structured lending for entrepreneurs via BIL Suisse Global Advisory. ### Wealth planning - wealth structuring, insurance solutions, estate planning, tax services. ### Institutional line - corporate banking and capital markets (trading floors in Luxembourg and Zurich) — the backbone of the universal model. ## Entities and booking centres | Jurisdiction | Legal entity | Format and supervisor | Role for the client | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Luxembourg | BIL S.A. | parent bank, ECB/CSSF | main booking centre, home market | | Switzerland | BIL (Suisse) SA | subsidiary, FINMA; Zurich, Geneva, Lugano | booking centre and Global Advisory for entrepreneurs | | France | BIL S.A. Paris branch | EU passport (since July 2025) | domestic private banking for French clients | | China | Beijing representative office | no banking operations | Chinese clients covered from Luxembourg and Switzerland | Closed: Singapore (2015), Denmark (2021), DIFC (2021), Hong Kong (2025); BIL Manage Invest sold (2025) and Belair House closed (2025). ## Strengths - Luxembourg's oldest bank with systemic status and a universal product shelf; - two booking hubs — Luxembourg and Switzerland with the Global Advisory entrepreneur practice; - improving financials: profit +24% in 2025; - the Luxembourg state's 10% stake as a stability signal. ## Where it does not fit - clients in Asia and the Middle East — direct points are closed; - fortunes below the indicative €1m; - clients sensitive to the 2020 CSSF fine — it is in the public domain. BIL is a systemic Luxembourg bank with two booking hubs and a strong entrepreneur practice, majority-owned by a Hong Kong-listed shareholder. ## Q/A ### Entry and geography ### What minimum capital does BIL require? No official threshold is published. Industry references cite around €1 million for Luxembourg private banking; for BIL Suisse entrepreneur relationships benchmarks run higher (US$3–5m combined). Admission is individual. ### Who owns BIL? Legend Holdings, listed in Hong Kong, held 89.98% of BIL at 30 June 2026 per its interim report; the Luxembourg state holds the rest. For clients the shareholder question is one of strategy, not asset safety: the bank is profitable and systemically important. ### What does the deposit guarantee cover? Luxembourg — FGDL €100,000 with a 7-working-day payout; Switzerland — esisuisse CHF 100,000. Custody securities remain the client's property and are returned to the owner in a bank failure. ### Supervisory backdrop ### What was the 2020 CSSF fine? €4.6m for AML process weaknesses found in 2017–2018 inspections. The bank stated no money-laundering activity was identified and completed a remediation program: a new risk appetite, scoring, hiring. The sanction concerned processes, not client assets. ### Did BIL accounts feature in the Azerbaijani case? The 2024 OCCRP investigation linked Dexia-era BIL accounts (pre-2012) to embezzlement from the International Bank of Azerbaijan; the Luxembourg case indicts an individual. No new sanctions against the bank followed; BIL reaffirmed its compliance commitment. --- ## Similar articles - [British Atlantic Bank (NodaBank): Accounts, Deposits and Lending](https://wiki.private.law/en/nodabank) - [BNP Paribas Wealth Management: the Eurozone's private bank from Paris to Singapore](https://wiki.private.law/en/bnp-paribas-wealth-management) - [Banque de Luxembourg: the cooperative private bank with no entry threshold](https://wiki.private.law/en/banque-de-luxembourg) - [Edmond de Rothschild: the family-owned Geneva bank with a real-assets focus](https://wiki.private.law/en/edmond-de-rothschild) - [LLB: Liechtenstein's state bank with three booking centres](https://wiki.private.law/en/llb-liechtensteinische-landesbank) - [Quintet Private Bank: one bank, five European brands](https://wiki.private.law/en/quintet-private-bank) --- Source: wiki.private.law — the private.law legal knowledge base. When quoting, cite the canonical page URL. 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