After having left Germany ten years ago, the princely bank can no longer ignore the opportunities with the country’s wealthy clients.
Currently, LGT Group is represented in Germany through LGT Capital Partners in Frankfurt, where it counts pension funds among its clients.
The bank has been servicing wealthy individuals based in Germany from Liechtenstein and Switzerland since it pulled its private banking operations out of the country in 2011.
Its exit came after Germany's financial supervisory authority Bafin, stopped it from taking over BHF-Bank (now known as Oddo BHF), because of LGT's alleged involvement with untaxed funds from German clients.
Key European Market
Fast forward ten years. After Spain and Switzerland, Germany is now one of the European countries where average wealth has grown the most, increasing by 51 percent over the past ten years, according to a study on European wealth conducted by LGT in collaboration with Zurich-based think tank Redesigning Financial Services.
Its planned expansion into Germany is preceded by the purchase of a stake in Berlin-based robo-advisor LIQID last year, a company that targets the mass-affluent with digital services.
Executive Role
Roland Schubert, former LGT Bank CEO, who joined the board of directors this year, will oversee the expansion in Germany, a spokesperson for the bank said.
The princely bank still has to decide where exactly it will set up shop, with locations such as Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Hamburg among its options.
