Information checkedInformation unaudited Information geprüft Information ungeprüft Anecdotes from long-time employees
Thomas Allemann, Head of Vaduz Office – 45 years at LLB
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In 1980, when I started my career at LLB, there were around 150 colleagues in total – everyone knew everyone. Digitalisation was still an unfamiliar concept; there wasnʼt even a computer in every department. We performed all our work with a “ball-head typewriter”.
We manually folded the quarterly and annual statements on a Saturday, packed them into envelopes, and sent them to our clients.
After completing my apprenticeship, I moved into stock exchange trading in 1983. Transactions were conducted over the phone directly with trading centres in Zurich, Frankfurt, Paris, London, and New York – something unimaginable today.
In the mid-1990s, LLB established its first Compliance Core Team, which met once a week. I was part of it as a representative of the client front office.
Yvonne Fehr, Consultant Administration / PV Team Service Direct – 40 years at LLB
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When I started my apprenticeship at LLB in April 1978, things were very different. There was no staff restaurant; instead, the apprentices ran a small staff kiosk in the basement – including daily shopping at the bakery and butcher.
The bank was small and close-knit – everyone knew everyone. Problems were solved in person and directly, and the sense of team spirit was immense. And technology? Barely existed! There was only one banking program running on massive computers, while correspondence and account statements were typed on typewriters with carbon copies – mistakes were not an option. Savings accounts were maintained manually on account cards and recorded using a large booking machine. IT support? Non-existent. Especially in the high-interest-rate 1980s, this meant many weekends and late nights just to keep up with the workload.
In summer, we operated a currency exchange bureau in the Vaduz Town Hall, and in winter, another in Malbun. At the counter, we often served coachloads of tourists exchanging a variety of currencies – from Deutschmarks to lire and schillings. Cashing cheques was also a daily routine.
When I went on maternity leave in 1989, the digital revolution was just beginning. Six years later, IT had advanced rapidly: Personal computers replaced typewriters, signature cards were digitised, and payment transactions were automated. The introduction of e-banking was a major milestone, followed by the big switch to Avaloq in 2011.
Today, the challenges are different: Regulations are constantly increasing, cybercrime and card fraud are major concerns. And now, artificial intelligence – a fascinating field with immense potential, but also risks for both banks and private individuals. The future promises to remain just as exciting!
Alexander Erhart, Team Head IT eWorkplace – 30 years at LLB
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IT infrastructure has evolved rapidly over the past 30 years. Here are a few of my key milestones.
1995 In the beginning, we were a small team of six people (personal computer consulting and network/telephony). I was responsible for PCs, printers, telephones, the IBM host terminal (banking system), and the network – I didnʼt need support from any other department to set up a PC, printer, or telephone. Today, for security reasons, that would be unthinkable. Many tasks were done manually, such as setting up a computer. Automation, as we know it today, was introduced gradually over time. Thanks to these advancements, we can now ensure both software completeness and security. For an issue, our colleagues had to contact us directly – either by phone or pager.
Not all employees had a desk phone, an IBM terminal, or even a PC, and printers were mostly connected locally to individual computers.
1997 Introduction of Windows NT in trading and subsequently throughout all of LLB. And in the same year, Lotus Notes was introduced, which we used for emails, calendars, tasks, etc.
2000 Y2K, which is why a lot of hardware and software had to be replaced. This required a two-year preparation and implementation period.
2005 Server virtualisation replaced most physical servers.
2007 First video conference system via the network and later also to Dubai and Abu Dhabi via ISDN, as the internet connection was not sufficient.
2011 Introduction of Avaloq. The project phase ran from 2008 to 2010. An IT ticket system was also introduced.
2015 First advertising screen at LLB
2020 Because of the covid pandemic, we had to equip all our employees with a laptop and instruct them to work from home within a very short time. Before covid, only about 20 % of our employees were able to work from home; today, itʼs 100 %.
2020 Switch to Follow-You printing in the LLB Group.
From 2022 More and more cloud-based systems are being introduced.
And here a few key figures:
In 2011, the LLB Group still had over 500 printers – many of them individual printers. And more than 12.6 million pages were printed every year. Today, there are only 150 printers, all of which are network printers. And 3.8 million pages are still printed on these printers.
Cyrill Sele, Head of Group Corporate Communications – 30 years at LLB
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I took my first steps at LLB in 1987 with a six-month internship before studying business administration at the University of St. Gallen (HSG). A few years later, I officially became an LLB employee and completed a one-year trainee programme. This gave me the opportunity to gain insight into a wide range of departments and personally get to know almost all LLB employees. With around 400 staff members at the Liechtenstein location, that was still easily possible. Things have changed since then. Today, the LLB Group has more than 1'500 employees and operates not only in Liechtenstein but also in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates. Even in Vaduz at s1861, I can no longer say I know everyone.
When I joined LLB, key internal information was posted on an A4 sheet of paper on a notice board, the “Black Board”, often staying there for quite some time. Today, everything is digital on the intranet. The volume and frequency of new information have increased significantly, making it essential to check the overview page first thing in the morning to avoid missing anything. Fortunately, the bold font of unread messages helps us quickly navigate and stay on top of things.
The employee magazine has also undergone major changes in recent years. When I joined, we still received a printed copy. Since then, it has made the leap into the digital world. In addition to professional topics, it also featured a lot of personal content – including listings of new hires, departures, work anniversaries, weddings, and births. Today, due to data protection regulations, sharing details like this would be unthinkable.
My area of work has also evolved significantly. For example, the 1995 annual report was fewer than 50 pages long. By the 2024 reporting year, it had grown to XXX pages, driven by increasing regulatory requirements and higher stakeholder expectations for transparency. In 1995, the financial report covered just 20 pages – today, it spans 125. Back then, corporate governance, the remuneration report, and the sustainability statement were still in their infancy and barely featured. Instead, the bankʼs governing bodies, authorised signatories, employees with promotions and long-service anniversaries, retirements, and even those who had passed away during the financial year were listed by name.
One thing that hasnʼt changed over the years is LLBʼs generous personnel policies. Thanks to these, I will be celebrating my 30-year anniversary in 2025, as my internship is counted towards my years of service. This gives me a slight head start over Fredi Aebi and Michael Verling, who officially began their careers at LLB alongside me on 3 January 1996.