From financial and monetary innovation to Economic and Monetary Union: the European Investment Bank in the Luxembourg ecosystem

Drawing on archives and oral history sources, this paper aims to illustrate the political and regulatory context surrounding the EIB’s relocation to Luxembourg, exploring how the EIB became an integral part of the Luxembourg financial ecosystem and how its main stakeholders (banks, LuxSE, other institutions, regulatory authorities, people, networks, etc.) worked together to encourage financial and monetary innovation before the introduction of the European single currency (EUA, EURCO, ECU) and to pave the way for the establishment and consolidation of the euro. Particular attention will be paid to the benefits (and potential pitfalls) of this synergy over the long term for the EIB’s partners and how it equipped them to deal with the financial crisis.