Luxembourg shifted its banking policy, saying it would exchange information with the rest of the European Union about EU holders of bank accounts in the country, another step in Europe's crackdown on tax evasion.

The move, announced by Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker during a state-of-the-nation address on Wednesday, marks a retreat from banking secrecy in Luxembourg, a practice that for decades has helped the grand duchy, with a population of 90,000, establish itself as one of the biggest financial centres in Europe. According to the European Central Bank, banking assets there are 22 times the nation's gross domestic product.