The 5th Liechtenstein Dialogue in Vaduz focused on the topic "Perspectives on Private Wealth Management". Private wealth management is worldwide an attractive and growing branch within the financial sector. For Liechtenstein and for the Liechtenstein financial center, this branch has a special significance. The Government's forward-looking project "Futuro" also ascribes trend-setting significance to private wealth management for the future positioning of the Liechtenstein financial center.
The goal of the international Liechtenstein Dialogue is to bring together experts in politics, economy and science to participate in a critical discussion of a current issue affecting the financial world and to provide a platform for a challenging exchange of thoughts and ideas. At the 5th Liechtenstein Dialogue, approximately 200 experts met once again to exchange knowledge and experience on an international level, to discuss new economic and societal developments and to consider the perspectives for potential future opportunities in the area of private wealth management. Over and above the consideration of economic aspects, the Dialogue segments also encompassed philanthropic, social and ethical components. In this context, the appearance of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, speaking on the topic of microfinance, was particularly well received.
Prime Minister Otmar Hasler emphasized in his welcoming remarks, that private wealth management is highly significant for Liechtenstein and that it is inextricably connected to the concepts of transparency but also of protection of privacy. The Prime Minister pointed out that Liechtenstein as a heavily export-oriented business location and an internationally networked financial center, cannot close itself off to the trend toward stronger international cooperation. Liechtenstein's central location in Europe, its integration in the European Economic Area and its high foreign trade volume require strengthened cross-border cooperation. As an example, the Prime Minister mentioned differentiated cooperation in tax matters, as manifested in the Anti-Fraud Agreement with the EU or the information exchange agreement with the United States. The Prime Minister furthermore defended bank client secrecy as a historically evolved good, but clearly condemned criminal activities such as money laundering or terrorist financing.
Pierre G. Mirabaud, Chairman of the Swiss Bankers Association, also emphatically defended bank client secrecy and a differentiation between tax evasion and tax fraud thereby preventing criminalization. Alluding to the corresponding criticism issuing from Germany, Bankers Association Chairman Mirabaud stated: "It would never occur to anybody to eliminate speed limits for German drivers on Swiss highways simply because there aren't any in Germany." The Bankers Association Chairman emphasized at the same time, however, that relying solely on bank client secrecy is not a successful model. Pressure on bank client secrecy will continue to increase in a globalized world, explained Stephan Lechner, Director, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, European Commission: The current financial crisis will further increase the pressure on information exchange, since states are facing a imminent reduction of tax revenue: "The desire for privacy and self-determination is a central human need independent of bank client secrecy", responded Fritz Kaiser, Executive Chairman, Kaiser Ritter Partner: Wealthy individuals often do not wish their wealth to be known and utilize bank client secrecy to protect themselves and their children from abduction or their assets from confiscation in corrupt countries.
Those having no money but nevertheless wishing to make a difference have other worries. At the Liechtenstein Dialogue, Muhammad Yunus spoke about them and about the opportunities for affording these individuals a livelihood and an economic activity through microcredit. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Managing Director of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and the pioneer of microcredit, intimated that charity does not begin only after quitting time but should also have its place in business. Muhammad Yunus reported on various projects such as yoghurt in edible cups or clean drinking water for the people of Bangladesh, which are being implemented in cooperation with international concerns. The focus of interest, however, was his remarks on microfinance: His microfinance movement aims to afford micro-businesses access to the official financial sector, to loans, to capital transactions, to savings models and insurance. For a quarter of a century, Yunus has issued small loans through the Gameen Bank, mostly to women, enabling them to become involved in income-generating activities and thus to find their own route out of poverty. Since its inception, Grameen Bank has lent over USD 7 billion to poor people and boasts a 98 percent repayment rate.
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