Sustainability at VP Bank

Corporate responsibility is increasingly becoming a focal point for various interest groups. The capital markets are also attaching importance to this topic. The banking sector is one of the most significant industries in an economy and is therefore closely scrutinised by analysts and investors. In their assessment of a company, they are placing more weight on responsible corporate dealings.

VP Bank’s role in society – its “corporate citizenship” – is characterised by the responsibility lives up to in its interaction with stakeholders and the environment. For VP Bank, an orientation towards long-term economic, ecological and social compatibility is a crucial factor in performing commercial activities successfully.

VP Bank Group is committed to the principle of sustainability. It is convinced that responsible actions and economic success are interdependent. The business model of a bank is based on the trust of its clients. VP Bank’s activities in the area of sustainability foster and reinforce that trust. Thus, responsible action is a key element of the corporate culture, the internal work processes and the operative business of VP Bank.

VP Bank maintains a constructive dialogue with its clients, employees and shareholders, as well as with its ancillary social environment, and takes their feedback into account in its business decisions. By doing so, the Bank generates added value for all of its stakeholders.

Stiftung Fürstlicher Kommerzienrat Guido Feger is the largest shareholder of VP Bank. Established by the Bank’s founder in 1954, it supports social, charitable and cultural projects, thereby shaping the corporate culture at VP Bank Group and lending expression to the Bank’s social character.

As a partner of the Swiss Climate Foundation, VP Bank provides financial support for the energy efficiency and climate protection projects of small- and medium-sized companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

In addition, VP Bank strives to uphold its responsibility towards the environment by means of targeted measures for the sustainable use of resources. Moreover, due to its commercial activities, VP Bank is by definition in an active interrelationship with society as a whole, and thus con- tributes to the further development and preservation of Liechtenstein as a centre for finance and industry.

With its sustainability policy, VP Bank defines the minimum standards for the products and services it offers. These standards apply just as much to the acceptance of savings deposits as they do to the granting of loans and the conduct of the investment business. As a part of this, VP Bank makes every effort to keep its banking operations CO2-neutral. 

In conducting its banking business, VP Bank actively hinders bribery – which represents the core of corruption –, the granting and receiving of undue advantage, and money laundering. This is achieved, on the one hand, through regular client advisor training sessions and, on the other hand, by moni­toring compliance with the rules laid down in the Service Regulations and the Code of Conduct. 

Apart from the values and management principles of VP Bank, the Code of Conduct documents the Bank’s commitment to ethically correct business practices. VP Bank pursues its vision of being the most recommended private bank that astounds its highly demanding clients with unique experiences. This requires trust and closeness to the client. VP Bank fosters both of these aspects by voluntarily observing ethical principles in its business activities and creating a viable foundation of rules for its conduct.

The Code of Conduct lays down the ethical principles of VP Bank that are binding for all employees, and serves as a guideline for proper behaviour. Each employee receives a copy of the Code of Conduct upon joining the company. The document is also available on the VP Bank intranet as well as on the Bank’s website as a downloadable file. Contraventions of the Code of Conduct are dealt with without compromise through disciplinary measures and the consequences applicable under labour law.

In addition, the Service Regulations of VP Bank specify important manners of behaviour with regard to banking secrecy, discretion, data integrity, equal opportunity, social media guidelines, conflicts of interest, insider information and data protection. The Service Regulations take the form of a direct­ive and are an integral part of each employment contract. They apply to all employees of VP Bank.

It is the goal of VP Bank to constantly broaden and improve all of its efforts in the area of sustainability. The report on the related measures and achievements pertains mainly to data covering the Bank’s Liechtenstein facilities. For the coming years, VP Bank plans to initiate Group-wide reporting of internal environmental statistics. Further information in this regard can be found in the “Business ecology” and “Social engagement” sections of this annual report.