The Principality of Liechtenstein - financial center in the heart of Europe

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The Principality of Liechtenstein - financial center in the heart of Europe

September 05, 2018 - 19:15
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The Principality of Liechtenstein is a small country located in the center of Europe, which is also a large financial center.  In 2015 GDP of the country was 6 billion Swiss francs: about 41% of GDP the country gets from manufacturing of goods. Then financial services follow and account for 25% of GDP.

Not many people know about this small country located in the center of Europe, which is also a large financial center. But not only this…

The Principality of Liechtenstein was founded in 1719 and is under ruling of Prince of Liechtenstein. Today it is a small country with population of about 38000 citizens. Liechtenstein is located between Switzerland and Austria. The castle of the Prince is located on the hill in the capital of the Principality, Vaduz. The Principality of Liechtenstein is a beautiful highland country with many lakes.

Liechtenstein has very close relationships with Switzerland, up to single army. There is a customs union between two countries. Swiss franc is an official currency of Principality. Not being a member of European Union, Liechtenstein is a member of wider European Economic Area and also a part of WTO.

In 2015 GDP of the country was 6 billion Swiss francs. It is interesting to note that about 41% of GDP the country gets from manufacturing of goods. Then financial services follow and account for 25% of GDP. There is almost no unemployment in the Principality. It was just 2% as of May 2017.

It shall be noted that Liechtenstein has the highest possible credit rating AAA. Only 10 countries in the world have such ratings. This is why it is not a surprise that banking system of Liechtenstein is the most stable in the world.

Tier 1 Capital Ratio of banks, which is an indicator of their resistance to turmoil, is quite high: it is 21,3%.

There are 14 licensed banks in the country holding about 60 billion of Swiss francs, 126 billion assets are under management. Banks of the Principality of Liechtenstein meet high international standards of such organizations as IWF, FATF, Moneyval, MiFID, IOSCO, OECD.

Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB) partly belongs to the Principality of Liechtenstein (57,5%). Other shares are traded on Swiss exchange SLX in Zurich since 1993. Business volume of LLB is 58 billion Swiss francs, 46,4 billion are assets under management. Tier 1 Capital Ratio is 21%. Rating agency Moody’s assigned rating Aa2 to LLB. Three LLB units are located in Vaduz, Switzerland and Austria. Besides, there are offices of the bank around the world, including Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East.

LLB’s units include retail and corporate banking, private banking, investment banking. LLB has multiple rewards for its investment activities.

For private investments banks offers very interesting opportunity of creating so called “Private Investment Fund” in accordance with the laws of the Principality of Liechtenstein. This is a structure controlled by the government and managed by the bank and suits large private investors, groups of private investors and institutional clients. Look for more details at Glagoliza News.