At a press conference held on 25 January 2024, Lex Delles, Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism, and Gilles Roth, Minister of Finance, together with Béatrice Belorgey, Chair of the Executive Committee of BGL BNP Paribas and Head of Entities of the BNP Paribas Group in Luxembourg, and Fabrice Cucchi, Member of the Executive Committee and Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer of BGL BNP Paribas, presented a major research and development (R&D) project, which will benefit from public co-financing by the Ministry of the Economy.
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers immense potential for boosting many areas of the economy, including finance, as well as simplifying the lives of citizens. Developing AI is one of the priorities of the coalition agreement. In particular, the Government intends to continue to boost Luxembourg’s economic diversification in order to create and strengthen, ecosystems in priority sectors, including the field of AI.
BGL BNP Paribas was founded in 1919, and is one of the largest banks in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in retail, private and corporate banking. It is part of the BNP Paribas Group, the sixth largest employer in the country.
AI is becoming strategically important for BGL BNP Paribas. It already uses this technology in several different ways, including for risk management, payments, understanding and processing emails, as well as modernising credit management and processing regulatory obligations. BGL BNP Paribas has embarked on a research and development (R&D) project with the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg in order to facilitate the continuous, systematic monitoring of AI solutions as they evolve in an ever-changing environment. The aim is to develop an intelligent, secure monitoring system for these AI solutions, while taking the regulatory framework into account.
BGL BNP Paribas is the first bank to submit an artificial intelligence project that will benefit from public co-financing as part of the RDI (Research–Development–Innovation) aid scheme. The project represents an investment of nearly 7.4 million euros over three years, a maximum amount of 2.95 million euros of which may be co-financed by the Ministry of the Economy.
Béatrice Belorgey, Chair of the Executive Committee of BGL BNP Paribas and Head of Entities of the BNP Paribas Group in Luxembourg, says: “The development and deployment of artificial intelligence is completely in line with our 2025 GTS (Growth–Technology–Sustainability) Development Plan. This new research programme that we are launching in collaboration with the SnT is a bold one. It addresses a technological challenge that still has not been fully explored yet, but which is nevertheless key in boosting the industrial development of AI and the way it is used in our bank.
I am particularly proud that our bank is a pioneer in this field, and I am delighted to be able to count on the support of our partners, the SnT and the Ministry of the Economy in this adventure.”
During the project presentation, Lex Delles added: “AI is a promising technology of the future, one that can contribute to Luxembourg’s competitiveness by helping us increase our productivity. In addition, the Ministry of the Economy is pleased to be able to support BGL BNP Paribas in carrying out this innovative project that will certainly make a significant contribution to the development of skills in the field of AI in Luxembourg. Eventually, this will strengthen the position of the Grand Duchy internationally in this area. I hope other major players in the space will follow suit by also launching AI-related R&D projects.”
In turn, Gilles Roth stated: “Artificial intelligence is a transformative technology. Companies that adopt it in a responsible way will have a competitive advantage in tomorrow’s data-driven economy. So it is encouraging to see that one of our leading banks is tackling head on the opportunities and challenges of AI. It is also a clear indication of the BNP Paribas Group’s desire to develop its activities in Luxembourg. This also demonstrates that international groups can take advantage of their presence in the Grand Duchy to develop and implement new technologies.”