Monthly Newsletter

The Liechtenstein government has this week described 2007 as a "successful business year" in an official statement.

The authorities went on to state that the three largest banks in the Vaduz banking center increased their business activities last year, and revealed that the banks do not fear any long-term problems for the Liechtenstein financial center as a consequence of what they dubbed "the German tax affair".

"We are able to compete with international financial centers in terms of professionalism, tradition, international orientation, and quality of our products and services," Josef Fehr, President of the Liechtenstein Bankers Association from 2006-2008, emphasized at the recent 2008 Bank Day.

The 2007 business year results of the three large banks – LGT Bank in Liechtenstein, Liechtensteinische Landesbank, and VP Bank – confirm the assessment that the Liechtenstein financial center has established itself internationally, according to the government.

It went on to reveal that the client assets under management passed the CHF200bn mark for the first time; at the end of 2007, the LGT Group had client assets under management in the amount of CHF103bn, which corresponded to an increase of 13% over the previous year.

The Landesbank Group recorded growth of 19%, managing CHF60bn in client assets. Client assets in the VP Bank Group, meanwhile, grew by 18% compared with the previous year, rising to a total of CHF42bn by the end of the 2007 business year.

In their reports for 2007, all three banks indicated that the strategic reorientation initiated a few years ago has now borne fruit.

Since 1999, the LGT Group has pursued an international growth strategy in wealth management and asset management, with the goal of diversifying revenue sources and reducing dependence on the Liechtenstein financial center.

In the field of wealth management, the LGT Group has built up locally regulated banks in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria over the past few years, which have experienced a successful development.

The LGT Group is focusing increasingly on international clients in the growth markets of Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia, where a bank in Singapore and a representative office in Hong Kong have been established.

As a universal bank, the Landesbank Group is also focusing on private banking and asset management as well as fund and trust services. In addition to its main office in Liechtenstein, the Landesbank maintains representations in Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Abu Dhabi, and Hong Kong.

Its strategy has three major thrusts: First, consolidating and expanding its position in its home market, Liechtenstein, and its traditional core markets. Second, strengthening its activities in Switzerland, where it has already established the Landesbank (Switzerland) AG in Zurich, taken over Bank Linth, and acquired a majority shareholding in Swisspartners Investment AG.

Third, the network of intermediaries in Eastern Europe is being expanded, and a network of intermediaries in India is being built up.

Along with its expansion of the existing representation in Abu Dhabi, the Landesbank plans to open a representative office in Dubai in 2008.

The VP Bank Group reportedly views the growth in its two business segments of private clients and trust banking as a confirmation of its business model, which focuses on expanding international business activities.

In Zurich, a team of 20 specialists will take up activities in wealth management and consulting in the third quarter of 2008. The VP Bank began to open up new markets already 20 years ago, by establishing a bank in Luxembourg and a finance company in Zurich, which has meanwhile received a banking license.

The VP Bank has supplemented its market initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe by setting up an asset management company in Munich.

The VP Bank has stated that it looks forward to striking projects in Asia in 2008: In Singapore, an application has been filed for the establishment of a bank, for which VP Wealth Management (Singapore) Ltd. was already created in the second half of 2007 as a preparatory vehicle for obtaining a banking license.

In Hong Kong, an asset management company was opened last year, VP Wealth Management (Hong Kong) Ltd., complementing the existing VP Bank representative office. To strengthen the bank's presence in the Middle East, VP Wealth Management (Middle East) Ltd. was opened in February 2008.

Michael Lauber, CEO of the Bankers Association, argued at the 2008 Bank Day that: "The Liechtenstein banks have completed a strict training program that will make them fit for the future. This fitness program includes niche innovations and stability, endurance and growth, trust and sustainability."