Poll Finds Liechtenstein Banks Facing Personnel Crisis

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-news.com, Brussels

16 May 2001

A substantial banking sector has developed in Liechtenstein, particularly in private banking, due to a combination of factors, including a relatively relaxed but still highly respected regulatory regime and very flexible company legislation. However, a poll carried out in the principality's banking institutes by newspaper The Liechtensteiner Vaterland has shown that there is a lack of qualified managers to man the country's banks.

According to the Liechtensteiner Vaterland, banks have difficulties in recruiting qualified managers. The Liechtenstein Banking Commission too noted in its annual report for the year 2000 that it has become increasingly hard to find qualified personnel.

The Liechtenstein Vaterland said that the shortage can be attributed to one outstanding factor - the sheer number of banks in Liechtenstein. It said that from having only four established banks, the sector has mushroomed, with twelve additonal banks being granted licences in the last four years alone. Now a total of 16 banking institutions are competing for qualified staff.

Any potential recruit to Liechtenstein's banking industry will find the scene is changing and that the strict banking secrecy once synonymous with the principality has been tampered with, as in many offshore financial centres. The "know your customer" system has been legally compulsory since October 2000 for all banks that belong to the Lichtenstein Bankers' Association. This means that banks in Lichtenstein, previously known as one of Europe's most secretive tax havens, can no longer guarantee anonymity for new and existing account holders.

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