Posted on 09 May 2011
Tags: account, accountholder, bank act, Bank secrecy, Banking in Switzerland, banking information, banking system, Banks, borrowings, criminal offence, criminal offense, death sentence, financial crunch, fiscal requirements, french kings, german citizens, german gestapo, information secret, Jews, secrecy rules, swiss bank account, Swiss Bank Accounts, swiss bankers, swiss bankers association, swiss citizens, swiss civil code, Swiss National Bank, UBS, united states, World War II, ww
The Swiss banking system follows code of secrecy for more than 300 years. The code of secrecy started from, the era of French Kings who needed high confidentiality, the fiscal requirements and capacity to return the borrowings.
The legality of the secrecy is even much older than the system. In 1973, The Great Council of Geneva implemented directives to keep all the information of their account holders secret for the bankers.
Switzerland’s Bank Act of 1934
This confidentiality of information made the Swiss bank accounts more popular around the globe to keep the funds of various rulers and other secret and safe. The banking rules permit any account holder to claim damages from the banker in case he or she perceives that his or her information had been leaked anyway. But the banker could not be prosecuted for criminal offense for disclosing the information. The same secrecy codes prevailed until the end of nineteenth century.
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Posted on 20 January 2011
Tags: account, account holder, accounts, America, amoun, Auditing, auditor, bank, bank account, Bank Accounts, Bank secrecy, banker, bankers, banking, Banking in Switzerland, banking laws, bankrupt, bankruptcies, Banks, banks in switzerland, Business_Finance, capacity, citizen, conditions, country, court, credit, criminal proceedings, Deposit account, different methods, Economy of Switzerland, employee, Ethics, EUR, European Union, Federal law, Federal Reserve System, government, Inheritance tax, interest, investmen, Law of the United States, laws, laws and regulations, legal formalities, Offshore bank, private citizen, regulations, savings, savings banks, securities, Swiss, swiss bank, swiss bank account, swiss bank account exemptions, swiss bank account laws, swiss bank account regulations, Swiss Bank Accounts, swiss banker, swiss bankers association, Swiss banks, swiss federal banking commission, swiss government, Switzerland, taxation, Terms And Conditions, UBS, united states, USA, With-holding
Opening an account in Swiss banks is accompanied with some rules, laws, and regulations. The basic rule is about the age of account opener, that if the account opener is a national of any other country, other than Switzerland, that account opener should be above 18 years old. The exemption and taxation on your amount is also done under certain rules.
Laws and Regulations of Swiss Banks
In Switzerland, nobody, even the Swiss government is allowed to reveal any information regarding accounts or account holders until an account holder is not a criminal.
But in USA even a private citizen has an easy access to it, i.e. in America any one; even a normal citizen can get information of any account holder. The Swiss banker’s requirement of client confidentiality is found in Article 47 of the Federal Law on Banks and Savings Banks, which came into effect on November 8, 1934. In the books of banking laws, this article act is defined as;
“Anyone acting in his/her capacity as member of a banking body, as a bank employee, agent, liquidator or auditor, as an observer of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC), or as a member of a body or an employee belonging to an accredited auditing institution, is not permitted to divulge information entrusted to him/her or of which he/she has been apprised because of his/her position.”
Exceptions of Swiss bank accounts
It is discussed in Swiss Bankers Association that no bank is allowed to provide the information and details of any account to any one.
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Posted on 09 January 2011
Tags: bank, bank failure, Bank secrecy, banking, banking act, Banking in Switzerland, Business_Finance, CHF, DRUG TRAFFICKING, Economy of Switzerland, Finance, insider trading, internet banking, law, Law_Crime, non-bank securities dealers, Offshore bank, Privacy, prosecution, public attorney, refined investment services, regulatory agreement, securities dealers, strict law, Swiss, swiss bank, swiss bank account, Swiss Bank Accounts, swiss bankers association, Swiss banks, Swiss franc, Swiss Francs, swiss law, swiss laws, Switzerland, UBS, united states
Swiss laws are very strict regarding the relationship between a bank and its customers. If the bank violates this relationship a punishment shall be imposed. Banks must very careful therefore and not divulge any kind of information regarding their customers, without, taking permission.
Punishment
Swiss law treats a violation by the bank very seriously. The Swiss public attorney will immediately start prosecution against the bank.
The punishment imposed could be up to 6 months of imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 Swiss Francs. In addition you may even sue the bank separately.
Exceptions
There are certain exceptions to this strict law of privacy. Information may be divulged if criminal activities are taking place. This includes drug trafficking, organised crime or insider trading.
Privacy
The biggest advantage of having a Swiss bank account is the privacy that you can enjoy. The privacy allowed to a customer is indeed a blessing. You might not want anyone to know about your money.
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