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Banque Havilland, a prominent private bank based in Luxembourg, is set to shut down its operations in Switzerland and Liechtenstein following the European Central Bank's (ECB) decision to revoke a key banking licence. This move will lead to the voluntary liquidation of its units in these two countries, as per an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg News.
Bloomberg reported that the decision to close these operations does not stem from any issues related to the bank’s solvency or liquidity.
On Monday, Liechtenstein’s Financial Market Authority (FMA) announced that Banque Havilland Liechtenstein had renounced its banking licence. Consequently, the bank is no longer authorized to provide banking services in Liechtenstein, and the FMA will oversee the liquidation process.
Banque Havilland has declined to comment on the situation.
Owned by the Rowland family, Banque Havilland has notable connections to the British monarchy. David Rowland, one of the wealthiest individuals in Britain, has served as a financial advisor to Prince Andrew, the son of the late Queen Elizabeth.
The decision to close its operations in Switzerland and Liechtenstein comes shortly after the ECB notified Banque Havilland of its intention to revoke the bank’s licence in its home market of Luxembourg. This action follows various AML (anti-money laundering) issues at the bank, including its failure to implement necessary changes after being fined €4 million by Luxembourg’s financial supervisory authority, the CSSF, in 2018 for inadequate anti-money laundering measures and poor governance.
Banque Havilland, which manages €1.35 billion in assets and caters to a range of wealthy clients, has stopped accepting new deposits. The ECB’s decision is likely due to the CSSF’s assessment of a "repeat offence" in the bank’s operations.
Additionally, Banque Havilland is reportedly in advanced stages of exclusive negotiations to sell its Monaco subsidiary to One Swiss Bank, another private banking institution.
By fLEXI tEAM
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