Responsibilities for the economy, society and environment

Information checkedInformation geprüft Responsibilities for the economy, society and environment

The LLB Group is a reliable partner for the economy, society and the environment. Sustainability is one of the principles guiding our company's actions and is also reflected in our values. At the same time, a broad social commitment has always been an essential part of our corporate identity.

Performance mandate and sustainability

Liechtensteinische Landesbank, whose roots go back almost 160 years, understands the special responsibility it has for taking a long-term approach. Sustainable business management is part of its performance mandate and its corporate identity. We have a legal obligation to our majority shareholder, the Principality of Liechtenstein, to promote Liechtenstein's economic development while at the same time taking ethical and environmental factors into account. We fulfil this special obligation by offering a diverse portfolio of products and services, applying environmental standards to our offerings, our infrastructure and procurement, and engaging broadly in society.

Sustainability as a strategic goal

The LLB Group is convinced that sustainability is not only indispensable for preserving an intact environment and society, but is also increasingly becoming a decisive competitive factor.

The pillars of our sustainability strategy

As a financial institution with a long-term orientation, we are committed to leaving an intact environment and stable social conditions to the coming generations. Our guiding principles in the context of sustainability have four central elements:

• Corporate management – Our values form the basis for the ethical corporate management of our company and the integrity of the actions of all employees. We are perceived in the market as a secure, sustainable and innovative bank.
• Product range – Sustainability is an integral part of our banking products. We inform our clients about our offerings in a fully transparent manner in a personal consultation.
• Employees – In the area of human resources, we continually promote training and professional education, diversity and the compatibility of family and career. We ensure work processes are sustainable in terms of, among other things, energy use and mobility management.
• Commitment – We participate in industry initiatives and contribute to sustainability in the financial sector. Furthermore, as a corporate citizen, we promote sustainable social and environmental development.

We aim through this strategy to be perceived as a stable, sustainable and innovative bank and to differentiate ourselves clearly from our competitors. However, we are not starting from scratch. For some years now, we have offered our clients sustainable asset management mandates and investment strategies with a special focus on ESG criteria. These describe the three sustainability-related areas of responsibility of companies: Environment, Social and Corporate Governance.

Special products complement our sustainable offering (see chapter “Sustainability in banking”). For example, in 2020, we launched the LLB Gold Fund, the first Liechtenstein fund that is backed by physical gold and invests in sustainably produced and transported gold. We will gradually bring our product range into line with our sustainability strategy. We have used the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards as the framework for our sustainability reporting for many years.

Governance

To reflect the growing importance of the sustainable finance megatrend, and that not only in the investment field, we revised our criteria for sustainable corporate governance in the reporting year. We decided to establish a Group-wide Sustainability Council and to create the position of a Sustainability Officer. In future, they will coordinate and lead sustainability efforts across the whole LLB Group. In a transitional phase, set to last until summer 2021, this work will be carried out as part of a Group project.

Roadmap

Based on the new sustainability strategy and responsibilities, LLB will implement an ambitious roadmap over the next few years focused on the following areas:

Regulations

Financial institutions face a host of sustainability-related regulations driven by the EU Commission, the overarching aim of which is to slow down global warming. In order to achieve this, global capital flows are being redirected towards more sustainable investments. The LLB Group is following developments closely and making appropriate adjustments in its areas of activity (see section "Regulatory framework and developments").

Sustainable asset management and funds

With regard to its products, the LLB Group has developed a comprehensive definition of sustainability under which it understands responsible investing with high ethical, social and environmental standards. For many investors, the question of impact, i.e. the direct effects of an investment, is also becoming increasingly important. We provide clients with active and competent support in identifying appropriate investments (see chapter "Sustainability in banking").

Further development of staff competences

Our employees are a key factor in the success of our sustainability strategy. We offer them appropriate training or professional education so as to stay up to date with changing regulatory requirements and our product range (see chapter "Employees").

Commitment and transparency

Our membership of international financial initiatives such as the UN Principles for Responsible Investing (UN PRI) underpins our commitment to greater sustainability in finance (see chapter "Industry initiatives and corporate citizenship").

Material topics

Sustainability to the LLB Group means that it creates long-term added value for its clients, shareholders, employees and other stakeholder groups. To provide the best possible transparency for our stakeholder groups and to meet the requirements of Liechtenstein's Persons and Companies Act (PGR) for corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, LLB's sustainability reporting is prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards. The thematic focus of our sustainability reporting is based on the materiality matrix from 2019. To ensure our reporting meets the needs of our key stakeholder groups and to evaluate strategically relevant topics, LLB carried out a comprehensive materiality analysis, the last in 2019. The material topics were determined on the basis of the requirements of Liechtenstein's Persons and Companies Act (PGR) and the GRI Standards. The relevance of potentially material topics was evaluated from different perspectives, i.e. at workshops with LLB managers and through interviews with representatives from key stakeholder groups, internal analysis and expert opinion. Our approach is detailed in the Annual Report 2019 (GRI 102 - 46, 102 - 47).

In dialogue with stakeholder groups

For the LLB Group, sustainability as a corporate responsibility also means meeting the expectations of the different internal and external stakeholder groups. We are in regular dialogue – personally, by electronic media, or at information meetings, working sessions or conferences – with the different stakeholders who affect the course of our business and over whom we have influence.

An important instrument is the LLB Group's annual report, which has contained a stakeholders report since 2015. Through it, we highlight our proactive focus on sustainability and social responsibility. For sustainability reasons, we do not print our annual report.

The stakeholder groups are in particular:

• Clients: Their needs are uppermost at every point of contact. Using various channels, we determine the needs and level of satisfaction of our clients. We address them directly through our client advisers as well as more broadly through our marketing communication, our websites and our social media channels.
• Principality of Liechtenstein: The Principality of Liechtenstein is our majority shareholder. We exchange views with representatives of the Landtag (Parliament) and the Government on a regular basis (see chapter “Corporate governance”).
  
• The public: All our branding and communication measures are high-profile. A key trust-building element in this regard is an intensive exchange with media representatives (see sections  “Media relations”).
• Partners and non-governmental organisations (NGOs): Through our membership of associations and organisations, we maintain a dialogue with partners and NGOs (see chapters “Institutional Clients” and “Responsibilities for the economy, society and the environment”).
• Employees: We reach our employees over our intranet, which is continuously updated, and through our “InSight” staff magazine. There are various events where employees have the opportunity to personally meet and discuss with members of the Group Executive Board (see chapter “Employees”).

Investor relations

As a publicly listed company, we are obliged to publish share-price-relevant facts by means of media communiqués. We inform shareholders, clients, employees and the public simultaneously, comprehensively and regularly about our business performance, value drivers as well as the implementation of our strategy and provide them with an overview of our key financial and operating figures. We maintain an open dialogue with analysts and investors in order to be able to report on the course of business on an ongoing basis. The aim is to ensure that the price of the LLB share represents the fair value of the company (see chapter "The LLB share").

Media relations

Irrespective of the ad hoc information and the annual media and analyst conference, we are in constant contact with the media and business journalists in our market regions. We make every effort to answer their questions in a transparent and timely manner. The LLB Group was the subject of around 900 media articles in 2020.

Public affairs

Only by constantly seeking dialogue with different decision makers are we able to voice our opinion and be heard. LLB is therefore in regular contact with opinion leaders and selected representatives from the world of politics and economics. We are a member, too, of the key industry associations and organisations such as the Liechtenstein Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bankers Association (see chapter "Institutional Clients"). We exchange views with the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority (FMA) on a regular basis. LLB is obliged to report to its majority shareholder, the Principality of Liechtenstein, on the course of business. Against this backdrop, there is a meeting twice a year of the senior management of the LLB Group and the Liechtenstein Head of Government. Once a year, the Group Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board invite the entire Government to a roundtable discussion.

Public relations

We use various channels to engage with the general public. With regular market commentaries and reports in local print media, we prove our expertise in financial matters. We normally strengthen our relationship with the local population by organising or sponsoring various events, but this was possible only limited during the reporting year due to the coronavirus situation.

Digital communication channels

The LLB Group has been consistently investing in the expansion of its digital communication channels for a number of years now. It operates a total of twelve different web portals and microsites that are centrally managed through the same content management system and are in conformity with the brand. We also reach our clients with selected information through mobile and online banking. In addition, we are in direct contact with clients over social media.

This page contains information on the following GRI disclosures: 102-40, 102-42, 102-43, 102-44.