Tag Archive | "swiss bank account"

History of Swiss Bank Accounts

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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.

Swiss banking

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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How to Open a Swiss Bank Account?

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Swiss bank accounts are very attractive due to their specific features. An average business man can now easily open a Swiss bank account. There are many new offers introduced for this purpose. It is considered very important to know about the specific aspects of these accounts. These accounts generally provide the secrecy and protection to the savings of people. Swiss bank accounts are operated with a number rather than account holder’s name. Some hard terms and conditions are led for opening these accounts.

swiss banking

Every new account needs an in-person appearance in Switzerland. There is a huge amount of money at least $100,000 required for an initial deposit. It also needs some more $300 per year for account maintenance. So, these secret accounts considered somewhat costly for an average person.

Cheaper ways to open a Swiss Bank account

There are some easier and cheaper ways also available to open Swiss Bank accounts. These secret accounts are working under the Swiss law from 1934. No Swiss bank official has right to disclose any information about an account. However, U.S. law enforcement agencies now may interfere for criminal investigations according to newly introduced rules for Swiss Bank accounts.

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Swiss bank accounts

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Switzerland has been the largest and safest offshore place for tax payers all across the globe.  Even though the Swiss banks supremacy for this identification has been shifted to new offshore banks, but still Swiss Bank account bestow you with the similar advantages that are supplied by other offshore banks. Now Swiss banks not only serve the very affluent people, but other small investors can also be benefited by these.

swiss bank account

In Offshore Banks, Swiss Banks are the Safest

Even in times of global turmoil and antagonism, Switzerland has managed to maintain its standing as an impartial country. Owing to this, Switzerland has developed into pinnacle of banking hubs all over the globe. It is therefore, acclaimed by every single one offshore financial expert as an ultimate place, because it protects people from social and political turmoil. Hence it means to offer more protection to your cash with stringent seclusion regulations.

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Laws related to Swiss Bank Accounts

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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.

swiss bank account

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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Swiss Banking Procedures

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Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) regulates all the banks in Switzerland. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority is an institution that regulates activities related to bank, securities markets and investment funds.

Major Banks

Major Swiss Banks

Four type of banks operate in Switzerland, Central bank, private banks, semi-government banks, there are 327 authorized banks in Switzerland, UBS and Credit Suisse are the largest Swiss banks and account for over 50% of all the deposits in Switzerland. The Swiss National Bank, founded by Federal Act serves as central bank. The federal government does not hold any shares; its shares are publicly traded and are held by the individual investors, and are held by private and semi-government banks.

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Swiss Bank Account Advantages

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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.

HAUPTSITZ SCHWEIZER 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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List of Swiss Banks and Type of Accounts

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There are many banks and account types in Switzerland. There are some universal banks in which there are all types of accounts and facilities are available for their clients and there are also some specialized banks, which deals only in specific field. Following are some details of different banks and account types in Switzerland.

Two largest banks in Switzerland

There are almost 400 banks in Switzerland and out of these 400 banks there are two large banks;

  • Union Bank of Switzerland, after its merger with Swiss Bank Corporation, it is also called UBS AG.
  • Credit Suisse Group

These two banks are managing the 50 percent of the account sheet of Switzerland banking business. They are handling the main economy of Switzerland.

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How to Open and Use Swiss Bank Accounts?

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There are different laws to open a Swiss bank account. The very first important law is that if you are not a citizen of Switzerland, you must be at least 18 years old. You can open your account in any currency. Normally people choose American dollars currency.

Choice of bank and account type

It depends upon your investment that what type of account you want to open. For privacy and security reasons choose a bank in Switzerland that has also a branch in your country. The type of account depends on your investment and function of your account. They also provide you safe deposit box so that you can deposit your important documents and other items. Select a type of account that suits your needs and you do not need to pay extra money.

Interest giving accounts

If you maintain your account in Swiss Francs you can earn a small amount of interest. You can also earn interest if you select any other currency like US dollars or British Pounds or Euro. They will put your money into money market fund and will earn interest there.

Account opening

You can open your desired account by filling the application and also providing the necessary documents along with your application. Read the full story

7 Myths About Opening a Swiss Bank Account

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Mention Swiss bank account and heads turn and people tend to get more attentive. First thing that comes to mind is filthy rich people. Swiss bank accounts are usually associated with drug and corruption money due to popular media and fictional movies. This lead me into a quest for truth among all the myths surrounding Swiss bank accounts. It was only a matter of understanding Swiss people and their legal and banking system. All myths evaporated as facts came forward to clear the mist. let me share what I found about Swiss bank accounts.

Swiss Bank Account

Only millionaires can have Swiss bank accounts

This is most popular of the myths. It is not true that Swiss Accounts are only for very rich people. In fact most of the people holding Swiss Bank accounts are not leading industrialists or movie stars. It is everyday people. businessmen, IT professionals, engineers, doctors and government employees etc. Gone are the days when Swiss bank accounts were only for rich.

Barrier to entry are considerably low. Minimum amount to open an account in Swiss Bank is just 5000 Swiss Franc. There are even Swiss accounts available where you don’t need to maintain a minimum balance.

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