The 2006 business year of the Liechtenstein banks brought excellent results. The financial institutions were again able to increase their net profits relative to the preceding year. The client assets under management rose to a new record level by the end of 2006. A stronger trend is apparent to seek out close proximity with clients: Liechtenstein banks are establishing branches abroad, especially in the growth markets of Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
The Liechtenstein financial center has undergone great changes in recent years. Changes have been seen in the environment of the financial center, but also in the financial center itself. In a speech at a recent conference on finance, Prime Minister Otmar Hasler noted, "Thanks to changes within, the financial center has succeeded in placing and securing its international recognition and reputation on a new foundation." In addition to the implementation of international standards, the regulatory leeway has been used to endow the financial center with new growth potentials.
The larger Liechtenstein banks also see growth opportunities abroad. Their focus on private banking leads banks to seek out proximity with potential clients and to consolidate their presence in the vicinity of the clients by establishing branches. The strategies of the Liechtensteinische Landesbank, the LGT Bank in Liechtenstein, and the VP Bank may be different in geographical terms, but at their core, the three largest banking institutions in Liechtenstein are pursuing the same goal: to benefit from growth in the growth regions, and to offer services for clients not only as an offshore center.
The LGT Bank in Liechtenstein, which is owned by the Princely House of Liechtenstein, already has branches in the growth markets of Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, and it is now also strengthening its presence in German-speaking Europe. With the opening of a branch in Mannheim in the autumn of 2006, LGT is now present in seven large cities in Germany. At the beginning of February 2007, LGT Bank (Austria) began operations in Vienna, and LGT Bank (Switzerland) will open an office in Lucerne this year – joining the other offices on Swiss territory in Zurich, Basel, Berne, Lausanne, Geneva, Lugano, Chur, and Davos.
The VP Bank Group is also continuing its market expansion in 2007. The focus of the expansion will be in Asia and the Middle East with the establishment of branches in Singapore and Dubai and with the expansion of the Hong Kong location by an asset management company. The branch in Moscow has already successfully begun its efforts to build up its market in Central and Eastern Europe. VP Bank also has established subsidiaries and representative offices in Switzerland, Luxembourg, Munich, and the British Virgin Islands. While the LGT Bank in Liechtenstein advertises with slogans such as "Investing like the Prince", VP Bank communicates a "Swiss touch with Liechtenstein flair", which means for the client: benefit from the advantages of the Swiss financial center and still invest money in another sovereign country.
The Liechtensteinische Landesbank founded in 1861 is the oldest banking institution in the Principality of Liechtenstein and focuses its growth strategy on consolidating its leading position in the Liechtenstein domestic market and further expanding its market position in Switzerland. The Landesbank has been present for a long time in Zurich with LLB (Switzerland) AG. To close the gap between the two financial centers of Vaduz and Zurich, the Landesbank has taken over the regionally rooted Bank Linth. Together with LLB (Switzerland), Bank Linth will serve as a platform for onshore banking in Switzerland. At the same time, the Landesbank is counting on intensifying its business activities in the Middle East and expanding its distribution networks in Eastern Europe and India. A representative office in Abu Dhabi has already been opened, and the Landesbank is already targeting the Indian subcontinent as the next station of its growth strategy.
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