Talk:Banking in Switzerland

Upcoming law changes

There was recently a new document released on Digg.com pertaining to the fact that the 300+ year banking secrecy tradition will be broken as a result of laws being changed in Switzerland at the request of the U.S Government. Could someone please elaborate further on the topic? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Alliance1911 (talk • contribs) 02:11, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

Gambling banned by Swiss Banks

Its seems that Swiss banks have a policy against taking clients who derive their funds from gambling(specifically online gambling). Can you anyone confirm this?

Good article nomination

I am proud to nominate Banking in Switzerland for Good Article status; I have massively expanded it and have attempted to cite every fact stated in the article. Paul 06:59, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

I recently reviewed this article's GA nomination. It is well-written and its sourcing is truly impressive. In my opinion, it meets or exceeds GA standards in these areas. However, there are a few omissions which, IMHO, prevent it from being a GA:

1. The lead is rather off-putting. Only three sentences long, it provides a smattering of facts instead of a summary of the topic and its notability.
2. The article focuses almost exclusively on the modern (20th/21st century) history of Swiss banking. It is mentioned in passing that Swiss banking secrecy dates back to the Middle Ages -- so why isn't its long history discussed? The addition of a "history" section would smooth the final corner and make this a truly well-rounded article.

If these changes are made, this article should have absolutely no difficulty reaching GA status. And who knows -- maybe even FA one day! --Alex S 03:00, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Interest rates

I thought Swiss banks had extremely high interest rates as well. Trey Stone 06:20, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Not in my experience. Swiss franc accounts accrue virtually no interest (although there is also virtually no inflation in CHF) and fiduciary deposits (i.e. funds placed on deposit with other international banks in whatever currency you want) accrue the standard interest rate for the country in question. Since July 2005 due to new EU law, all interest is now subject to tax aswell. The main reasons clients choose Switzerland are because of banking privacy, stability and to use as a global investment/trading platform, not the interest rates. --nirvana2013 09:32, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

How to open a Swiss bank account from a foreign country ?

Is you type "swiss bank account" into Google search, you'll find a lot of sites that offer you a Swiss bank account. But most of there sites offer very different terms, like one site adveritses that you need a minimum deposit to open a account and another one tells that you don't need any minimum balance. Also, not a single one of those tell you in which bank your account will be opened. Is this a fraud ? How can I really open a Swiss bank account from a foreign country ?

It depends if you want to open an account through an intermediary/agent (they will charge you a commission, and not normally reveal the name of the Swiss bank in case you approach the bank directly) or direct with the bank. Opening accounts directly with a bank can be done in person in Switzerland, via a business meeting with a bank representative in a well-known financial centre (such as New York, London, Paris etc), or remotely. I believe the "Two Big Banks", UBS AG and Credit Suisse, currently open accounts directly with non-Swiss nationals, given that they pass their appropriate anti-money laundering checks and have an initial deposit equivalent to over $50,000. nirvana2013 12:50, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Ubs.gif

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Trivia

I'm usually reluctant to remove trivia sections from articles, but I don't believe the trivia section in this article contributes anything to it. Do we really need to know what one video game character said to another to understand Swiss banking? 172.166.105.48 02:59, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

European Union withholding tax

July 1, 2005, Switzerland has charged a withholding tax on all interest earned in the personal Swiss accounts of European Union residents.[26]

This is wrong, there are lots of exceptions, one being that the tax does not apply on interests paid by Swiss Citizen and Swiss Firms (including Swiss Banks) on their own debts (i.e. all interests from swiss deposit accounts). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.118.33.228 (talk) 13:03, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

Swiss Records turned over to US

See http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02/18/ubs-agrees-pay-m-turn-swiss-banking-records/, for example. This should be added to the article in some manner, perhaps. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.85.235.162 (talk) 21:02, 26 February 2009 (UTC)