After leaving UBS wealth management for a stint at a real estate firm, Christian Wiesendanger is back in banking. This time in Liechtenstein.

Christian «Chris» Wiesendanger is back in banking. The Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB) reported Monday that it nominated the Credit Suisse and UBS veteran for election to its board.

Along with Nicole Brunhart, board member and the head of transformation at Clearstream Fund Center, the duo will replace Gabriela Nagel-Jungo and Urs Leinhaeuser on the board. The latter two are leaving due to term limits, the LLB added.

From Credit Suisse to UBS

With the nomination of Wiesendanger, LLB pulled off a coup that will undoubtedly resonate in the financial industry. The Liechtenstein banking group touted the 59-year-old Swiss industry veteran as «one of the top experts in the Swiss wealth management business.»

The McKinsey alumus started his private banking career at Credit Suisse in the noughties and moved to rival UBS in 2010, where he steered private banking in Switzerland for seven years. He took on additional responsibility in 2017 as co-head of the product forge IPS, taking over sole charge by 2018.

Suddenly Adrift

But in the course of the major reorganization of wealth management into Global Wealth Management, Wiesendanger suddenly found himself without a management post in 2020. He remained on the UBS payroll until 2022, but for a figure who had previously been so prominent, especially in the Swiss business, it became remarkably quiet around him.

There are indications that he was working on board mandates after his long operational career. He has been a member of the supervisory board of the Swiss real estate company HIAG since 2021 and is now standing for election at LLB. 

Best Results in a Decade

Earlier today, LLB reported its consolidated net income rose by 8.4 percent to 149.4 million Swiss francs, its best performance in more than a decade. 

At the upcoming annual general meeting on May 5, the group's board of directors will propose a dividend increase to 2.50 francs from 2.30 francs. As the bank's largest shareholder, the Principality of Liechtenstein will also benefit. In 2022, dividends, taxes, and levies of 52.8 million francs were credited to the state.