“2023 will be a challenging year,” he said. “Inflation and interest rates will increase loan defaults, and uncertainty makes banks unwilling to invest.”

However, Hoffmann is more concerned for beyond 2023. “It’s the reputation we have abroad and the country at large,” he said. “If Luxembourg fails to continue attracting talent and nurture innovation, it runs the very real risk of losing credibility in the outside world.”

And this concerns everyone, he noted, as everything from social security to the health of the pension system relies on a thriving financial sector economy.

“Housing supply and an overly strict labour law need to be urgently addressed. If you can’t, the people here to develop your business companies will not develop anymore in Luxembourg.” Hoffmann acknowledges that Luxembourg has the lowest volume of non-­performing loans in the EU and has shown in the past that the economy is resilient.

The challenge is for political ­leaders to take unpopular measures. “We’re a small ecosystem. We’ve shown with covid and the Ukraine refugee response that if the right people make decisions, we can get things moving.”