Ivo Klein takes over Liechtenstein bankers’ body after nine-year handover

The Liechtenstein Bankers Association has completed a change at the top, with Ivo Klein formally succeeding Hans-Werner Gassner after nine years as president. The handover comes as the sector points to stronger capital levels, stability and a renewed three-year mandate for the association’s board

The Liechtenstein Bankers Association has completed a leadership handover, marking the end of a nine-year presidency and the start of a new three-year term at the top.

Ivo Klein, an accountant and former politician, officially assumed office following this year’s AGM on 26 March.

He replaces Hans-Werner Gassner, who took over as president in 2017 and went on to oversee the association’s Roadmap 2025 strategy – a multi-year plan aimed at growing Liechtenstein’s banking centre through sustainability and innovation.

During Gassner’s presidency, Liechtenstein’s banks came through a period of investment and expansion with rising capital levels, a strong reputation for stability and what the association described as high-quality capital reserves.

Gassner said he was handing over the presidency with great confidence, describing his successor as ideally placed to lead the association because of his many years of experience.

Klein would be supported by a strong and highly professional secretariat over the coming three years, Gassner added, and he wished him every success and much fulfilment in the role.

Gassner said: “What particularly pleases me is that I am able to hand over the presidency to my successor at a time when Liechtenstein’s banks are in a stronger position than ever before: with a high reputation, exceptional stability and an outstanding level of capitalisation by international standards.

“Particularly noteworthy is the fact that average capitalisation is already increasing again after a period of intensive investment as well as organic and inorganic growth.”

He also said Liechtenstein’s banks held their regulatory capital exclusively in the form of Common Equity Tier 1, or CET1, which he described as the highest-quality form possible.

“This underlines the solidity, resilience and future viability of our financial centre, especially in a global environment shaped by uncertainty,” he added.

Klein is a former politician who sat in Liechtenstein’s Landtag from 2001 to 2009, including a spell as vice-president.

He has also worked as an accountant, trustee and auditor.

The 64-year-old was elected as the next president at the 2025 annual general meeting. He officially assumed office with this year’s AGM.

Speaking at this year’s AGM, Klein said: “I would like to thank everyone for their trust and I am very pleased to take on this new challenge.

“It is an honour to serve in this capacity and to work together with the Board and the Secretariat for the benefit of Liechtenstein’s banking and financial centre.”

The AGM also brought a change in the vice-presidency.

Under the association’s rotation principle, the role now passes to VP Bank, with Urs Monstein, the bank’s chief executive, unanimously elected for the next three years.

The association said the vice-presidential election is made on an ad personam basis, meaning the appointment is made to the individual personally rather than to the bank itself.

Its outgoing vice-president, Christoph Reich, used the occasion to pay tribute both to his successor and to the outgoing president.

“I wish Urs Monstein every success, satisfaction and sound judgement in his new role as Vice-President,” he said.

“At the same time, on behalf of the entire Board, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Hans-Werner Gassner for his great commitment and tireless dedication over the past nine years. Under his leadership, Liechtenstein’s banking centre was able to strengthen its position successfully.”

Monstein thanked Reich for his commitment and for his work as vice-president and said he was looking forward to his new responsibilities, adding: “I would like to sincerely thank Christoph Reich for his valuable commitment. At the same time, I am very much looking forward to my new role and to working together with the Board and the Secretariat.”

The AGM also held full renewal elections for the remainder of the board, with all member banks represented on it standing for re-election.

No new nominations were submitted, and all existing board banks were unanimously confirmed for a further three-year term.

The new board consists of President Ivo Klein, Vice-President Urs Monstein, and the board banks LGT, LLB, Neue Bank, Bank Frick and Bendura Bank. The association said the unanimous decisions underlined the strong cohesion and unity within the body.

Elsewhere on the statutory agenda, the AGM appointed LGT’s internal audit function as the association’s statutory auditors from the 2026 financial year.

It also approved the annual financial statements, which closed with a balanced result, and granted discharge to the board and the secretariat.

The association said the changes in the presidency and vice-presidency, together with the confirmation of the full board, set the personnel course for the next three years as Liechtenstein’s banking sector seeks to further develop the financial centre and provide important impetus in what it described as an increasingly challenging international environment.

It added that this year’s AGM stood for continuity, unity and the consistent further development of Liechtenstein’s banking centre.

Founded in 1969, the Liechtenstein Bankers Association describes itself as the voice of Liechtenstein’s banks at home and abroad. It is a member of the European Banking Federation, the European Payments Council and the European Parliamentary Financial Services Forum.

READ MORE: ‘‘Stability, scale and strategy’: Christoph Reich on Liechtenstein’s evolving financial centre‘. Liechtenstein’s renewed AAA rating, its access to the European single market and its reputation for disciplined innovation continue to shape one of Europe’s most resilient banking hubs. Christoph Reich, Group CEO of Liechtensteinische Landesbank and the new Vice President of the Liechtenstein Bankers Association, discusses how the sector is managing regulatory pressure, advancing digital transformation and adapting to shifting international client expectations. 

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_{Main image: Hans-Werner Gassner, third from right, with Ivo Klein, fourth from right, following the Liechtenstein Bankers Association’s annual general meeting, at which Klein formally took over as president. Credit: Supplied.}