Bendura Bank Toasts a Decade Under Hong Kong Ownership
Liechtenstein's Bendura Bank has now been part of Hong Kong's Citychamp group for ten years. It celebrated the milestone in Gamprin-Bendern with clients, partners, and the leadership of the country's bankers association. finews was there.
On Tuesday afternoon, Bendura Bank welcomed guests to its headquarters in Gamprin-Bendern. The occasion: ten years ago, the bank became part of the Hong Kong-listed Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group.
The celebration took place in the bright, lofty atrium of the bank building, and the mood was excellent. Among the many guests were the former and the current president of the Liechtenstein Bankers Association, Hans-Werner Gassner and Ivo Klein, as well as chief executive Simon Tribelhorn.
Like most other banks in the principality, Bendura itself holds a seat on the association's board.
Corbières From the Group's Own Cellar
The speeches were given by chairman Hon Kwok Lung and chief executive Philipp Forster. Both looked back on the past decade and outlined their vision for the years ahead.
The bank spared no effort on the culinary side either: confit salmon with yuzu beurre blanc, sous-vide beef rump, and soft-serve ice cream made «à la minute». The wines came from Château La Bastide in the southern French Corbières region, which, like the bank, belongs to the Hong Kong conglomerate.
A Name Like a Fortress
The bank's history has had its share of twists and turns. Founded in 1998, it operated as Valartis Bank (Liechtenstein) under the Swiss group of the same name.
In 2016, Valartis sold the bank to Citychamp, as finews reported at the time.
It has traded under the Bendura name since February 2017. The name is of Celtic origin, combining the elements Ben and Duro (gate, fortress), and alludes both to the architecture of the bank building and to its home municipality of Bendern.
Before that, the name «Licorium Bank» had been under consideration, as finews reported.
Asia as a Bone of Contention
The start under the new flag was bumpy. Unsettled by the «forced separation» from the former majority shareholder, clients pulled money out, and by the end of 2016 the bank managed just 2.8 billion Swiss francs.
It turned its attention to Asia early on. In 2018, it opened a representative office in Hong Kong, followed at the end of 2023 by the acquisition of Hong Kong-based Bendura Wealth Management (article in German).
At the top, founding CEO Andreas Insam handed over to Peter Krenn in 2020 (article in German), with Markus Federspiel taking over in 2022.
Strong numbers: Bendura CEO Philipp Forster. (Image: courtesy)
The Change at the Top
The bank suffered net outflows in 2022 and 2023, and first-half profit in 2024 slipped to 5.9 million francs. In December 2024, it parted ways with Federspiel over «differences of opinion regarding the strategic prioritization of the bank, particularly in Asia», as finews reported.
Federspiel recently became chief executive of the newly founded Celsion Bank. His successor was Forster, who had previously overseen the bank's expansion in Asia.
Since then, Bendura has grown markedly. In 2025, it attracted 550.2 million francs in net new money, and client assets rose 17 percent to 4.05 billion francs, as finews reported.
Gross income, however, dipped slightly to 55.0 million francs.
Heading for 6.5 Billion
In the first half of 2026, another 288.7 million francs in net new money flowed in. Client assets reached 4.6 billion francs (about $5.8 billion), while net profit rose roughly 5 percent to 6.0 million.
«With net new money of almost 290 million francs and another increase in profit, we are satisfied with the first half,» Forster said.
Client assets have thus grown by around two-thirds since the low point after the takeover. The bank aims to lift them above 6.5 billion francs by 2030.
