BANKING SYSTEM OF LIECHTENSTEIN

The Liechtenstein banking sector is regulated under the Law of Banks and Finance Companies of 1992, as amended. The banking center is the actual nucleus of the Liechtenstein financial services sector. This is shown by the comparison of the shares of the Liechtenstein gross domestic product (GDP) and the number of employees. An assessment of these comparative values must naturally take into consideration the mutual dependencies within the financial services sector. Banks in Liechtenstein generate about 20% of GDP with 7% of employees. In comparison, banks in Switzerland generated about 11% of GDP with 3% of employees, and banks in Germany generated about 3% of GDP with 2% of employees. As of the end of 2003, 16 banks were licensed in Liechtenstein, several of them Swiss- or Austrian-based. The three oldest banks, Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB), LGT Bank in Liechtenstein AG and Verwaltungs und Privat (VP) Bank AG, all belong to the Swiss Banking Association and are required to recognize most of the conventions of that Association. They had a balance sheet total of 38 billion (thousand million) Swiss francs, which corresponds to 1.5% of the balance sheet total of Swiss banks. Overall, 1,629 persons were employed in the banking sector as of that date.
Client assets under management amounted to 116 billion (thousand million) Swiss francs.

Private banking, based on a comprehensive protection of bank client secrecy, is the focal point of banking activities. Banks operate in an environment characterized by high political and social stability and a legal structure that complies with international standards and is compatible with EU requirements. Banking supervision, as part of overall financial market supervision, complies with internationally recognized principles.
The Liechtenstein Bankers’ Association with headquarters in Vaduz represents the interests of the banks.

The major banks operating in Liechtenstein are:

Bank von Ernst (Liechtenstein) AG Vaduz
Centrum Bank AG Vaduz
Hypo Investment Bank Aktiengesellschaft Vaduz
LGT Bank in Liechtenstein Vaduz
Liechtensteinische Landesbank Aktiengesellschaft Vaduz
Neue Bank AG Vaduz
Verwaltungs- und Privat-Bank AG Vaduz
Volksbank AG Vaduz