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Swiss banks are world-renowned for their stability, privacy and protection of clients. All banks in Switzerland are regulated by Swiss banking law (Banking Law of 1934, amended 1999) which strictly limits any information shared with third parties, including foreign governments. In general, there is no simple way to trace the source of money placed on deposit with a Swiss bank, as they do not disclose client information. Although Switzerland has a historic reputation for bank secrecy and numbered bank accounts, in practice all private bank accounts are not anonymous as they are linked to an identified individual under Swiss banking law. However, this law also allows Swiss banks to refuse to give any information to investigating authorities unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as evidence of the client being involved in drug trafficking. A bank is an institution that provides financial service, particularly taking deposits and extending credit. ...
Bank secrecy (or bank privacy) is a legal principle under which banks are allowed to protect personal information about their customers, through the use of numbered bank accounts or otherwise. ...
Numbered bank accounts are offered by Swiss banks to the majority of their clients. ...
Private banks are banks which are not incorporated, and hence the entirety of their assets is available to meet the liabilities of the bank. ...
Switzerland is an important part of the international financial system, holding an estimated 35% of the world's private and institutional offshore funds, or 3 trillion Swiss francs (CHF) [1]. Switzerland is regarded as a safe haven economically and politically, with war successfully kept outside its borders for more than 200 years, including World War I and World War II. The Swiss franc is also considered to be one of the world’s premier currencies, with virtually zero inflation and historically backed by at least 40% gold reserves. The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ...
A safe haven is any security or other investment that loses none or little of its value in case of a market crash. ...
Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total of dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total dead: 7 million Spanish Flu...
Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...
Gold reserves (or gold holdings) are held by central banks as a store of value. ...
There are about 400 banks in Switzerland, ranging from the "Two Big Banks" down to small banks serving the needs of a single community or a few special clients. The Two Big Banks, namely UBS and Credit Suisse, account for over 50% of all deposits in Switzerland, and have extensive branch networks throughout the country and most international centres. All banks are regulated by the Swiss Federal Council through its Banking Commission. A number of these banks also have offices or other representation in foreign countries. UBS AG NYSE: UBS, (SWX: CH0012032030) TYO: 8657 is a financial services company, headquartered in Basel and Zürich, Switzerland. ...
The Credit Suisse Group is a financial services company, headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. ...
The Swiss Federal Council (in German, Schweizerische Bundesrat; in French, Conseil fédéral suisse; in Italian, Consiglio federale svizzero; in Romansh, Cussegl federal svizzer) is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the government of Switzerland, as well as assuming functions corresponding to those of the head of state...
The Swiss banks have a long reputation for managing investment portfolios for their clients, and providing other services such as estate planning, wealth management, trust companies and tax planning for individual customers.
Banking privacy
Swiss bankers are under obligation to keep any information about a client or a client's account strictly confidential. This banking privacy is amongst the strictest in the world and stems from an age-old historical tradition. It is established and upheld by Swiss law. The banking act adds a special section (introduced in 1934, in order to protect accounts of Germans, from Nazi confiscation) which makes it a criminal offence, with the possibility of an individual going to jail, for the bank or its employee or agent to improperly divulge any confidential information. The only exceptions to this rule concern serious crimes such as gun smuggling and drug trafficking. Both the Swiss justice system and banks take an active role in the fight against money laundering. Bank secrecy (or bank privacy) is a legal principle under which banks are allowed to protect personal information about their customers, through the use of numbered bank accounts or otherwise. ...
National Socialism redirects here. ...
Money laundering is the practice of engaging in financial transactions in order to conceal the identity, source and destination of the money in question. ...
Due to international pressure, in 2003 Switzerland lowered certain banking privacy laws, and allowed international police to have information about suspected criminals. Swiss banks also have come under fire in recent times due to their actions towards Jewish account holders after World War II, and also due to the fact that money that Nazis plundered from defeated countries as well as prisoners were held in Swiss banks. Whistleblower Christoph Meili exposed that the bank he worked at destroyed records of people murdered in the Holocaust, so that their credit would not be returned to their heirs. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
A whistleblower is an employee, former employee, or member of an organization who reports misconduct to people or entities that have the power to take corrective action. ...
Christoph Meili (born April 12, 1968) is a Swiss whistleblower. ...
Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ...
Under Swiss law, banks in general do not cooperate in proceedings of misdemeanours, but only of offences. A Swiss judge can only lift the bank's obligation of secrecy if he is convinced by national or international authorities that there is sufficient evidence of a criminal offence.
Bank secrecy will be lifted for private matters such as inheritance or divorce. If you have kept your banking information strictly confidential there may be exceptions to this. It is up to plaintiffs to prove that the account exists if they wish the judge to pursue the case. In this respect, the numbered bank account provides the maximum degree of confidentiality.
Taxation Swiss law distinguishes between tax evasion and tax fraud. If any holdings are not declared to the taxation authorities, a natural or legal person commits tax evasion. Tax evasion is not considered an offence, but only a misdemeanour. It is assumed that failed declaration of one's assets is not sufficient evidence for criminal intent, as the chance of unintentional failure is too high. However, tax fraud is considered a criminal offence under Swiss law and prosecuted according to the Swiss Penal Code. A forged tax declaration, like the statement of significantly below-market valuation of real estate or the counterfeiting of bank statements, is such a criminal offence of tax fraud. There is no capital gains tax in Switzerland. This article contrasts tax evasion, tax avoidance, tax resistance and tax mitigation. ...
In many jurisdictions, including the United States and the United Kingdom, a capital gains tax or CGT is charged on capital gains, that is the profit realised on the sale of an asset that was previously purchased at a lower price. ...
Since July 1, 2005 Switzerland has charged an EU withholding tax on all interest earned in personal Swiss accounts. It is possible for Americans to regain 30% of this tax with proof of United States citizenship. However, the current IRS regulations require "each United States person who has a financial interest in or signature authority or other authority over a bank, securities, or other financial accounts in a foreign country, which exceeds $10,000 in aggregate value at any time during the calendar year" to "report that relationship each calendar year by filing TD F 90-22.1 with the Department of the Treasury on or before June 30, of the succeeding year." In order to combat potential or actual cases of misuse of banking secrecy, new restrictions have been enforced by the U.S. over a number of years. The European Union withholding tax, more commonly known as the EU withholding tax is a withholding tax which is deducted from interest earned by European Union residents. ...
// Possession of citizenship U.S. citizens have the right to participate in the political system of the United States (with most U.S. states having restrictions for felons, and federal restrictions on naturalized persons), are represented and protected abroad by the United States (through U.S. embassies and consulates), and...
In fiction Swiss banks are frequent locations for spy films like The Bourne Identity, and one held an item of great secrecy in the The Da Vinci Code. The spy film film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy. ...
The Bourne Identity is a spy fiction thriller by Robert Ludlum about an amnesiac who must discover who he is and why several different groups, including an assassin and the CIA, are trying to kill him. ...
For the film, see The Da Vinci Code (film). ...
See also This article discusses buying gold as an investment. ...
An offshore bank is a bank located outside the country of residence of the depositor, typically in a low tax jurisdiction (or tax haven) that provides financial and legal advantages. ...
Private banks are banks which are not incorporated, and hence the entirety of their assets is available to meet the liabilities of the bank. ...
// Tax avoidance Tax avoidance is the legal utilization of the tax regime to ones own advantage, in order to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law. ...
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent and successful British politicians of the 20th Century. ...
Gnomes of Zürich is a disparaging term for Swiss bankers. ...
External links - National Centre of Competence in Research - Financial Valuation and Risk Management
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