Christian Lindner to headline Vaduz finance forum as Liechtenstein banks confront market and geopolitical strain

With investor nerves, geopolitical shocks and a growing fight for skilled staff reshaping European finance, this year’s Vaduz gathering will ask how the Liechtenstein-Swiss financial centre stays competitive

Former German finance minister Christian Lindner will headline this year’s Finance Forum Liechtenstein in Vaduz, where senior banking and policy figures are due to examine how one of Europe’s smaller financial centres navigates market instability, geopolitical pressure, client competition and an intensifying battle for skilled staff.

The annual gathering, now in its 12th year, will take place on 29 April and is expected to bring together several hundred executives and financial professionals from Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Austria and Germany.

Under the theme ‘Ensuring Stability – Shaping Change’, the programme points to a sector increasingly focused on resilience as well as growth.

Speakers are due to assess the opportunities and risks facing the financial centre from several angles, with discussion spanning investor sentiment, banking transformation, recruitment pressure, market access, regulation and leadership in uncertain times.

Liechtenstein Prime Minister Brigitte Haas will open the event, after which Patrick Odier, Jens Korte, Roman Pfranger and Angelika Moosleithner are set to discuss the opportunities and risks facing the financial centre before Lindner closes the programme with a keynote address.

Korte, a stock market specialist and economic commentator who has reported from the United States for more than 25 years, is scheduled to analyse conditions on international financial markets and outline the key trends and risks facing investors. The organisers describe him as one of the best-known financial journalists in the German-speaking world.

Roman Pfranger, chief executive of Neue Bank, and Angelika Moosleithner, partner at First Advisory, will then discuss current developments and growth prospects for Liechtenstein’s financial sector. Pfranger also sits on the board of the Liechtenstein Bankers Association, while Moosleithner served as president of the Liechtenstein Chamber of Trustees from 2015 to 2024.

Patrick Odier, chairman of the board of Lombard Odier & Co., is due to offer a strategic view of the industry’s transformation in a session on Swiss banking in transition. His remarks are expected to focus on how the financial centres of Switzerland and Liechtenstein can remain leaders over the long term. Odier is also president of Swiss Sustainable Finance and previously chaired the Swiss Bankers Association from 2009 to 2016.

The competition for both clients and skilled professionals has also been given a prominent place on the agenda. Georgine Roesle, an executive search consultant at Egon Zehnder who advises financial and technology firms on leadership recruitment, will discuss how financial institutions can continue to compete for top talent.

A further session will turn to decision-making under pressure, with former Swiss Armed Forces chief Thomas Süssli speaking on leadership in periods of crisis and conflict. Before his military career, Süssli co-owned a financial software company and held senior roles at UBS, Credit Suisse and Vontobel across Europe, Asia and the United States.

Lindner will conclude the event with a speech on current geopolitical developments and their effect on Europe, with particular attention to the opportunities and challenges facing Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The programme will once again be moderated by television presenter and business journalist, Reto Lipp.

A networking reception after the final session will give participants the chance to meet other decision-makers and industry experts. Ahead of the main event, organisers will also run free, practice-oriented workshops on artificial intelligence, regulation and market access.

The forum is supported by the Government of the Principality of Liechtenstein and backed by the country’s key financial associations and private-sector partners. Organisers say the event has served for more than a decade as a central meeting point for the financial industry in Liechtenstein and Switzerland. More information and registration are available at the event website.

READ MORE: ‘Liechtenstein lands AAA rating again as PM hails “exceptional stability”‘. A fresh AAA rating from S&P Global reinforces Liechtenstein’s standing as one of the world’s most stable economies, strengthening a year that has also seen the principality ranked as the top global location for charitable foundations and praised for the strength of its banking sector. 

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_{Main image: Finance Forum Liechtenstein logo}