Corporate Center

Information checkedInformation geprüft Corporate Center

To ensure the smooth flow of daily banking business a central steering and coordination unit is required: the Corporate Center. It steers, controls and bundles the central functions within the LLB Group. The paramount goal of all the tasks and responsibilities of the Center is to improve the efficiency of processes, safeguard corporate development, as well as to expand and improve the quality of our services.

Service provider within the Group

The Corporate Center contains the Group CEO (see chapter "Strategy and organisation"), Group CFO (see chapter "Finance and risk management") and Group COO Divisions. This segment encompasses all the departments which coordinate and monitor group-wide business activities, processes and risks.

The Corporate Center focuses fully on the requirements of the market divisions and thereby makes a direct contribution to the value added by the LLB Group. It plays a key role in the realisation of the StepUp2020 strategy. In 2020, the priorities were placed on the migration of the Austrian subsidiary to the central core banking system, the digitalisation of banking business, the further development of innovation management, as well as the crisis management with the Group during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Shared Service Centers

Within the LLB Group shared services are provided centrally from one source. This enables, for example, efficient processing of payment transfers, as well as stock market and securities transactions. Since January 2020, LLB Österreich has also been benefitting from this service. Our Austrian subsidiary now contributes 30 per cent of the transaction volume in stock market trading. This substantial expansion in capacity is being carried out without any increase in personnel resources or costs, which testifies to the great scalability of the Shared Service teams.

Thanks to the high level of automation and the standardisation of transaction processing, we have successfully enhanced efficiency and significantly improved the speed of throughput times for trading securities and payment transactions.

Digitalisation of banking business

The trend towards the digitalisation of banking business was boosted in 2020 as a result of the corona pandemic. At the LLB Group, right from the start of the current strategy period, we have pursued a group-wide project amounting to CHF 30 million for the expansion of digital channels and services. In this manner, we are complying with changed client requirements and positioning LLB as a modern, innovative financial institute. In the year under report we realised more digitalisation steps to make further progress with this project.

Investments in Online and Mobile Banking

In constantly refining and enhancing our LLB Online and Mobile Banking programmes, we are guided by the latest technical standards in relation to security, functionality, user-friendliness and design. As part of the expansion of the LLB Online Banking programme in the year under report, we provided client users with a revised navigation function and a new dashboard with specific views and functions. Our institutional clients also benefit from a cockpit, which enables them to directly manage and analyse their clients’ portfolios. A form centre also provides new clients with advantages when opening an account. LLB Online Banking therefore offers both private and institutional clients a comprehensive and integrated banking application, which is available 24/7 and complies with the highest security standards.

The LLB’s own LiPay instant payment application has been added to our Mobile Banking programme. This permits users to employ our Mobile Banking app to transfer and request payments conveniently, quickly and contactless (see paragraph "Innovation management").

Further progress with internal digitalisation

Within the scope of the "team@work" Group project, we are working on the comprehensive renewal of our digital infrastructure, the optimisation of work processes and the implementation of modern digital tools. In response to the corona pandemic during the year under report, this primarily meant that the possibility of working from home had to be, and was, extended to all personnel within the shortest time. At the same time, banking operations and the safety of bank staff were ensured at all times (see paragraph "Crisis management during corona"). 

As planned, in 2020 "Skype for Business" was introduced. This provides our staff in Liechtenstein and Switzerland with the possibility of using video conferencing and desktop-sharing conveniently from their own workplace in addition to telephoning and chat functions. In the first quarter of 2021, Skype for Business will also be introduced at LLB Österreich.

The replacement of the IBM Notes applications and databases has also commenced according to plan. This is part of the project to upgrade and expand a SharePoint-based digital workplace. This includes the replacement of the current LLB intranet with a modern collaboration platform.

Generating further significant synergy effects

In spite of its substantial complexity, in 2020, the "Danube Waltzer+" Group project  was successfully completed on time and within the budget approved by the Group Board of Directors. The migration of LLB Österreich to the Avaloq core banking system used by the rest of the Group generates significant synergy effects. Internal processes are simplified and the clients of LLB Österreich can take advantage of all the products and services offered by the Group. These include our Online and Mobile Banking programmes and, from 2021, our "LLB Invest" investment advisory and asset management applications.

Innovation management

Driven by new technologies and innovative companies, the market conditions in the financial services sector are changing rapidly. Our aim is not just to keep pace with developments, but rather to bring ground-breaking digital solutions on to the market. In April 2020, we launched our first LLB innovation, LiPay, on the market – created and developed by staff at the bank’s headquarters and tested internally. As a result of the corona pandemic, we decided to bring forward the roll out of this payment service in Liechtenstein in order to satisfy an increased client requirement for a contactless payment possibility. LiPay is integrated in our Mobile Banking app. Both private individuals and companies can use this contactless payment system to transfer or request money quickly, simply and at any time and place. Contrary to other established instant payment solutions in Switzerland and in Liechtenstein, LiPay utilises direct "account-to-account" payments, accelerated by instant push messages. Our own payment service has had a satisfactory start. In the first few months, around 60 acceptance locations in Liechtenstein have already signed up and the function was used several thousand times. We are currently working on an expansion of the LiPay functions. Currently, within the scope of a collaboration consortium with other banks in Switzerland and with several prominent representatives of the digital and stationary commerce sector, a cross-bank "account-to-account" instant payment application is being developed.

Successful crisis management during the corona pandemic

The corona pandemic and its repercussions determined large parts of our operative banking business in 2020. To ensure the smooth running of business at all times an effective crisis management organisation under the leadership of the COO Division was set up within the LLB Group. This body assumed responsibility for the organisation, planning and implementation of the various measures, as well as the coordination with the crisis management team – consisting of members of the Group Executive Management and the CEOs of Bank Linth and LLB Österreich. Accordingly, the protection of our employees and clients, as well as the seamless operation of our daily banking business was ensured at all times. Expanding the possibility of mobile working represents a core element in safeguarding our business continuity and the smooth functioning of internal procedures. Within just a few weeks, thanks to the efforts of Group IT, the possibility of mobile working for our staff was boosted from under twenty per cent to almost one hundred per cent (see chart).

Business segment result

The LLB Group reports the structural contribution from interest business, the value of interest rate hedging instruments, and income from financial investments under the Corporate Center. Operating income rose by CHF 13.6 million to CHF 58.9 million. The increase was mainly attributable to the higher structural contribution in interest business and the higher valuation of interest rate hedging instruments measured on the reporting date. Operating expenses fell by 14.1 per cent to CHF 78.5 million. Personnel expenses decreased to CHF 85.6 million due also to the lower headcount.

Segment reporting

Additional information