Depositary Banking & Custody Services
Depositary Banking Survey 2026: key messages
Published on 12 November 2026
The ABBL–CSSF Depositary Banking & Custodian Services Survey 2026 highlights continued market growth, a changing product mix and the operating capabilities needed to support Luxembourg’s competitiveness.
Summary
Luxembourg’s depositary and custody sector continued to expand in 2025, with assets under depositary reaching €8.21 trillion, up 10%, and assets under custody rising to €4.17 trillion, up 8%.
Beyond headline growth, the ABBL–CSSF Depositary Banking & Custodian Services Survey 2026 points to a market being reshaped by alternative fund structures, ETFs, ELTIFs and emerging digital assets, while Luxembourg’s scale, expertise and capacity to innovate remain central to its competitiveness.
A growing market with a changing product mix
Luxembourg’s depositary banking activity continued to strengthen in 2025. Assets under depositary reached €8.21 trillion, up 10% year on year, supported by the expansion of existing client portfolios and new onboarding.
At the same time, assets under custody increased by 8% to €4.17 trillion, with growth visible across most client segments.
UCITS remains the foundation of Luxembourg’s depositary market, but the composition of activity is evolving. RAIFs, Part II funds and other alternative investment structures are broadening the product mix, while ETFs and ELTIFs continue to grow faster than the overall depositary market.
This creates new opportunities for service providers, but also changes the operational requirements associated with servicing those assets.
10%
Alternatives, ETFs and digital assets are reshaping operating models
The growth of private markets increases the importance of ownership evidence, reliable asset documentation, valuation and coordination across the servicing chain.
ETFs bring different requirements, particularly around efficient creation and redemption processes and settlement.
Digital assets are also beginning to enter the picture. The 2026 survey introduces digital assets as a new data point across depositary and custody activity, creating a first baseline from which future market development can be monitored.
The results show that MiCA crypto-assets more than doubled, while activity in DLT and tokenised financial instruments remained broadly stable.
Taken together, these developments illustrate how the market is becoming more diverse and how operating models are evolving alongside it.
Scale and expertise support Luxembourg’s position
Luxembourg enters this transformation with significant strengths.
Its established scale, specialised expertise and broad fund ecosystem continue to support its position as a European hub for depositary and custody services.
Product innovation can further reinforce that position. The survey highlights opportunities linked to initiatives such as the subscription-tax exemption for actively managed ETFs, flexible ETF structuring and talent incentives.
For depositaries and custodians, these measures can create opportunities to develop new services and operating capabilities.
Turning growth into sustainable value
A growing asset base provides a strong commercial foundation, but volume alone does not determine profitability.
The contribution of that growth to revenues will depend on client activity, pricing, the services delivered and the cost of supporting increasingly diverse mandates.
This makes strong operating capabilities and specialised expertise increasingly important.
Luxembourg’s continued competitiveness will therefore depend on its ability to combine scale with product innovation, talent and effective operating models.
Tax and regulatory measures can create opportunities, but their commercial value will ultimately depend on how they are implemented by managers and service providers.
Explore the full ABBL–CSSF Depositary Banking & Custodian Services Survey 2026 →
Hélène Lange
Head of Business Coordination, ABBL
Published on 12 November 2026