Swiss Bank Accounts

PrettyBoy

Always hear these being mentioned in movies and such but I don't know why?

What are the advantages of having an account in a Swiss bank? Why have they gained the infamous reputation?

Sorry if this is a stupid question or the wrong place to ask.

BuffyBot

Privacy reasons, mostly. They were reknowned for being tight-lipped about their client's identities and financial affairs. Not so much these days, but the movie image lives on

ravima

have a look at www.swiss-privacy.com

Just came across them whilst surfing

Jim2007

ravima wrote: »

have a look at www.swiss-privacy.com

Just came across them whilst surfing

This is probably a scam, as most of what they say is untrue! There is no indication at all of what bank is going to open the account for you and with good reason - Swiss law requires that the customer is know to the client advisor before he opens the account for him and that a full background check has been carried out. The penalty for failing to do this, is loss of your banking licence!!!

Jim.

Jim2007

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Always hear these being mentioned in movies and such but I don't know why?

What are the advantages of having an account in a Swiss bank? Why have they gained the infamous reputation?

Sorry if this is a stupid question or the wrong place to ask.

There was a time, a long time ago now, when you could open a bank account at a Swiss bank, no questions asked - not even your name! You were given a number and as long as you knew the number you could do as you wished with what was assumed to be your money!

But these days are long gone! Today full background checks are in place, along with the usual money laundering checks and balances, so there is very little advantage to it!

Having said that, there are two advantages to banking in Switzerland - stability of the Franc and the fact that tax evasion is a civil and not a criminal offence! This means that the banks do not report anything to the tax authorities, but there is a 25% withholding tax on all interest and dividend payments :mad:

It is also a criminal offence for a bank employee to disclose client information with out having received a court order. And such orders are only given out if the judge suspects that the account was used for criminal activities.

so while it is definitely more secret the most countries, it's not as strong as it was and it is not absolute.

Good luck with that,

Jim

Toots

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