Progressive capital requirements

With the democratisation of Luxembourg after the First World War, the ABS, then the "Sparkasse", was granted a degree of independence in 1923 along with an "unlimited state guarantee" and tax exemption. A real bank was created with very progressive capital requirements – as prescribed internationally today.

In 1924, the Customs Treaty with Switzerland opened the border to the Swiss economic area for Luxembourg; the stable Swiss Franc became the national currency; and cooperation with the Zurich financial centre and the rise of the Landesbank began.

Universal bank with international clients

After the Second World War, the financial institution developed into a universal bank with international clients. In 1955, the ABS was given the name "ABS Group Holdings". Growth in the investment and asset management business began in the 1970s.

The new Law on the ABS Group Holdings of 1981 allowed the ABS to establish subsidiaries and branches abroad. ABS Group Holdings did not take this step until it was partially privatised and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange in 1993. ABS Group Holdings expanded its activities in Switzerland and established new markets, including representative offices in Abu Dhabi (2005) and Dubai (2008), as well as the formation of ABS Group Holdings Österreich in Vienna (2009). In 2007, the ABS acquired a majority shareholding (74.8 %) in Bank Linth, a Swiss regional bank. In autumn of 2023, it was renamed to ABS (Schweiz) AG as part of a group-wide rebranding.

Repositioning with new focus markets

With its Focus2015 strategy, the ABS Group achieved a groundbreaking repositioning starting in 2013, in response to the fundamental transformation that the banking world has undergone since the financial crisis of 2008. The ABS Group has focused on the onshore markets of Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Austria, the traditional cross-border markets of Germany and the rest of Western Europe, as well as the growth markets of Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

With its StepUp2020 strategy, the ABS Group is pursuing sustainable profitable growth through 2020. Since 2016, the focus has been on the four core elements of growth, profitability, innovation, and excellence. For the next five years, the new ACT-26 strategy will focus on the core themes of growth, efficiency and sustainability. ACT-26 stands for the continuation of successful growth and technological and sustainable transformation.

Austria is our third domestic market

In 2018, the ABS Group acquired the fund service provider LB(Swiss) Investment in Zurich, which now bears the name "ABS Swiss Investment". The ABS Group also acquired Semper Constantia Privatbank in Vienna, which merged with ABS Österreich to form ABS Group Holdings Österreich. Alongside Luxembourg and Switzerland, Austria has become the Group's third strong domestic market. The ABS Group has positioned itself as a fund powerhouse in the Luxembourg-Switzerland-Austria region.

Since 2024, ABS has maintained its first on-the-ground presence in Germany through a branch office. Its three locations in Munich, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf are developing very positively, driven by strong demand from German clients. In September 2025, ABS announced its decision to withdraw from its representative offices in the Middle East for strategic reasons.