The city of Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital city of the Swiss canton of Zurich. It is also the country’s commercial heart as it is where the majority of the world’s offshore bank headquarters are located; because the financial sector in Zurich is the largest in Switzerland and the entire sector makes up almost 70% of the country’s economy, offshore banking in Zurich is quite literally big business!
Banking offshore in Zurich is also incredibly popular internationally because Switzerland has proven to be such a secure and safe haven for decades because of its neutral status and because the country’s banking secrecy laws are seemingly impenetrable.
The economy in Switzerland is incredibly strong and sustained by the country’s position as the best offshore banking haven in the world in terms of the privacy and security afforded account holders. As a direct result of this fact the assets held in Swiss banks amounts to around 1.3 trillion pounds (or in excess of 3 trillion Swiss Francs) today and the country’s currency has consistently risen in value against major world currencies because of the country’s attraction of status.
Offshore Banking Laws in Zurich
The entire banking sector in Switzerland is tightly ruled and governed by the Federal Banking Commission which abides by the Swiss Banking Law of 1934. This Banking Law is updated from time to time and was most recently amended in 1999, but the fundamental principles of the law always remain unchanged - and they are that strict secrecy is imposed on all banks in Switzerland and all banks have to meet compulsory reserve requirements and reporting standards.
Banking offshore in Zurich does not protect anyone suspected of illegal activity such as money laundering however and in 1998 Swiss authorities published their own Money Laundering Law which directly details the rules banks have to abide by if suspicious bank account activity is suspected. Non compliance with these strict rules can result in excessive fines for the non-compliant bank.
Switzerland and the EU Savings Tax Directive
Switzerland’s status as the most secure and private offshore banking haven in the world has been somewhat undermined in recent months with the introduction of the EU Savings Tax Directive 2005 to which Switzerland was reluctantly forced to sign up. However senior Swiss banking personnel from some of Zurich’s main offshore banks claim that the introduction of the European Union Directive has not directly affected their operational procedures and that they have simply adopted the withholding tax option and retained all of their secrecy benefits.
