Liechtenstein's two largest banks report record client assets within a day of each other

LGT reported its first-half figures on 20 August. The private banking and asset management group, owned by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein, posted group profit of SFr281.6 million ($346.4 million), up 17 per cent on the same period a year earlier. Assets under management stood at SFr412.6 billion at 30 June, a record for the group, having risen 7 per cent over the six months.

The day before, Liechtensteinische Landesbank reported net profit of SFr105.0 million ($129.5 million) for the same period, up from SFr91.0 million. Client assets under management reached SFr115 billion, also a record for the bank.

Two record asset figures out of a jurisdiction of 40,000 people, announced within twenty-four hours.

Where LGT’s number came from

Net new assets of SFr12.3 billion, an annualised growth rate of 6.4 per cent, accounted for part of the rise. LGT also attributed the increase to market performance and currency effects, which is the honest way of saying that a good deal of it was not won from competitors.

Income from services, the group’s largest revenue line, rose 7 per cent to SFr1.00 billion. Income from trading and other operating income rose 1 per cent to SFr325.9 million, while net interest income fell 2 per cent to SFr156.6 million. Total operating income rose 5 per cent to SFr1.49 billion against costs up 2 per cent at SFr1.09 billion, so the cost/income ratio improved to 73.3 per cent from 76.8 per cent at the end of 2025. The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 18.0 per cent.

One qualification sits in LGT’s own statement: the figures do not reflect a full comparable period for Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s Private Advice business, which LGT acquired in June 2025. Some of the year-on-year improvement therefore comes from a purchase rather than from the existing book.

Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein, chairman of LGT, said the group’s focus after recent growth investment is “consolidating our presence in our existing markets worldwide and consistently leveraging the benefits of our international platform”. The bank added that it expects the geopolitical and market environment to remain too difficult to predict for the rest of the year.

LLB got there through costs

The Landesbank result was built differently. Operating income barely moved, up 0.9 per cent to SFr315.5 million, while operating expenses fell 6.8 per cent to SFr190.6 million. The prior-year period had carried one-off integration costs from the takeover of ZKB Österreich. The cost/income ratio fell to 59.5 per cent from 65.7 per cent, and CET1 stood at 18.5 per cent.

Fee and commission income rose 5.9 per cent on higher client asset volumes. Other income included SFr9.4 million from a referral agreement tied to LLB’s withdrawal from its Middle East business. Net new money came to SFr2.2 billion, an annualised 4.1 per cent, up from SFr1.4 billion a year earlier, and net new loans of SFr211 million reversed an outflow of SFr239 million. The shares, listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, have risen about 25.7 per cent since 6 January.

What neither release tells a family

Nothing in either statement identifies how much of this money belongs to families or to single family offices. LGT reports at group level. LLB reports through two divisions, Retail and Corporate Banking and International Wealth Management, across booking centres in Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Austria. A principal comparing the two learns the size and profitability of each institution and nothing about how either handles a family holding structure, a foundation, or a mandate that sits alongside an internal investment team.

Record assets are a signal of stability, which matters when a family is deciding where to book long-dated structures. They are not evidence of service quality, and they are not a substitute for asking a bank how many family clients of comparable size and complexity it actually looks after.

Sources: WealthBriefing on LGT (20 August 2026); WealthBriefing on LLB (19 August 2026); finews (20 August 2026).