We are about to enter the spring season which heralds the awakening of flourishing nature. The March showers are part of this process by alternating hail and bright sunshine. The financial markets do not seem to deviate from this...

We therefore take the opportunity of this letter to temper the weather.

The SVB “bank run” followed by the Signature bank highlights a lack of regulation on American regional banks, spurring a loss of confidence among their customers. European regulations are much more stringent than their counterpart across the Atlantic, even for small financial institutions.

The Credit Suisse "rout" is only an acceleration of management errors over the past few years which have ended up eroding confidence in the Swiss institution and precipitate its stock market fall.

It should be noted that central banks have massively reacted to those situations regardless of the non-systemic nature of the institutions.

AMFIE has no exposure to American regional financial institutions in its portfolio (SVB, Signature Bank, First Republic, etc…) and we currently only hold €2.4m of Credit Suisse bonds, the nominal of which is guaranteed (Of “Senior Preferred” rank, a category much more protected than Contingent Convertible Bonds - Coco Bonds or AT1 Bonds - “erased” by the UBS deal).

At the time you read these lines, €600k will have been redeemed by the institution, thus reducing our exposure to 0.3% of our assets.

Thanks to our excellent and seasoned CIO Mr KARDELEN - who has experienced many turbulences during his career - we continue to manage your assets with caution and as the saying goes: Never cast a cloud until may is out!

Enjoy our letter

Stéphane Argyropoulos
President of the Board of directors

As part of the redesign of its website and web banking, AMFIE is conducting a 360° review to determine the image it wishes to reflect, the product(s) it wishes to develop and the service(s) it wishes to improve.

In January 2023, we started a series of workshops with employees, coordinators and members (in Luxembourg and Geneva) in order to collect the most varied opinions possible. In order for our vision to be complete, we also need your opinion, and it is through this anonymous survey, consisting of 9 questions, that we are asking you.

The survey we carried out for all our members in 2019 was rich in information and enabled us to implement certain actions. This is why this survey is so important and we would like to thank you for taking the time to complete it.

The survey is available in English and French. You can switch the language at the top right on the front page.

We are delighted to welcome three new coordinators:

In Geneva at the World Trade Organisation Sara Thizy Nilsson, and at the World Meteorological Organisation, Alida Catcheside replaces Monique Schalk who has retired. Thank you, Monique, for your 3 years as AMFIE's coordinator.

Finally, Christine Caceres, who retired from the International Maritime Organisation in London in 2014, and had withdrawn from AMFIE's activities, returns to help our members and prospects in London.

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Thank you to all these great coordinators..

Our globetrotters are back on the road. In February, they were in Valencia, first for the FICSA Council, then to meet the staff of this new and growing UN centre! Then they were in England where they met staff from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, ECWMF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), the International Maritime Organisation and EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory).

In March they travelled to The Hague and visited the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the International Mechanism to carry out the residual functions of the Criminal Courts.