Banca March will operate in Luxembourg under its own banking licence from 2027 and open a business centre in Lisbon
20 OCT, 2026
By Joanna Piwko from RankiaPro Europe
Banca March strengthens its commitment to international expansion: its Luxembourg subsidiary will begin operating under its own banking license on January 1, 2027, the bank announced today. It will also open a business center in Lisbon early that year.
José Manuel Arcenegui, Chairman of Banca March Luxembourg, sees this move as part of a long-term vision, in the year the bank celebrates its centenary. The subsidiary replaces the branch the bank established in the Grand Duchy in 2012.
From branch to subsidiary with its own banking license
Banca March has obtained a license to operate under its own banking license in Luxembourg, turning the branch it opened in 2012 into a subsidiary. It was the first Spanish financial institution to operate in the Grand Duchy and describes the change as a strategic milestone that goes beyond a new legal status.
The subsidiary will serve as the foundation for the bank’s international expansion and as its operational, legal, and strategic hub, from which all its growth outside Spain will be coordinated, both organically and through potential integrations.
As a 100% family-owned bank celebrating its centenary this year, with the fourth generation already involved in its management, our vision is inherently long-term. Our subsidiary in Luxembourg gives us a solid platform from which to continue expanding our advisory services for clients, with privileged access to international markets. This is a far-reaching strategic move for Banca March. The Luxembourg subsidiary will enable us to expand into new markets and reach new clients with a banking model that combines financial strength, specialization, and local support, through organic growth and potential integrations. The internationalization of Banca March’s business model reflects a strategic conviction: our value proposition is fully exportable and competitive both within and beyond Spain. Our presence in Luxembourg not only extends Banca March’s geographic reach but also strengthens our ability to offer private and wealth banking clients high-level solutions in a stable, secure, and highly competitive regulatory environment on a global scale.
José Manuel Arcenegui, Chairman of Banca March Luxembourg, Banca March
Lisbon, the first step in the expansion
The first step will come in early 2027, when operations begin in Portugal. Banca March will open a business center in a distinctive building at Praça Duque de Saldanha, 12, in Lisbon. Banca March Portugal will be a branch of the Luxembourg subsidiary.
According to the bank, this structure will strengthen its product development and international distribution capabilities: under UCITS regulations, it will distribute its investment products from Luxembourg more quickly and efficiently throughout the European Union.
The bank will also expand its alternative investment offering and the channels through which it markets its Co-investment solutions, which it describes as a unique offering in the Spanish market that allows clients to invest in the same products as the bank itself.
A technology platform developed in Palma
The subsidiary is backed by a significant investment in technology. Banca March will provide its service through a platform developed at its center of excellence in Palma. The platform brings together all of a client’s holdings and provides a 360-degree view of their positions and global operational capabilities, regardless of jurisdiction.
With this move, the bank aims to consolidate its leadership in private banking and corporate advisory. It says the initiative responds to demand from private banking and wealth management clients for comprehensive, borderless advice, and that the subsidiary will be a pillar for wealth planning, diversification, and access to global opportunities.
