Swiss banking
Alpine financial discretion
Swiss banking refers to the financial services industry of Switzerland, known for strict bank secrecy laws and discretion regarding client identities and assets.
The phrase often implies wealth protection, tax avoidance, or hiding money from authorities: The dictator had stashed millions in Swiss banking accounts.
Switzerland's neutrality and privacy traditions made it a haven for international deposits, though recent transparency agreements have weakened absolute secrecy.
- numbered accountsBank holdings identified numerically
- wealth managementOverseeing affluent clients' finances
- high net worthPossessing considerable financial assets
- offshore accountsBank deposits in other countries
- safe deposit boxesSecured bank storage rentals
capital flows · gnomes · tax compliance · Liechtenstein · regulatory oversight · economic stability · finance · gold · currency exchange · Zurich · tax haven · laundering · neutrality · neutral ground · Alps · haven · offshore · dirty money
- national exportsFrench wine, Italian leather, Colombian coffee, Belgian chocolate, Egyptian cotton
- Swiss ExportsRolex, Lindt, Toblerone, watchmaking, Victorinox
- financial secrecynumbered accounts, offshore accounts, secrecy laws, financial privacy, confidentiality
- regional industriesforestry, lumber, dairy farming, Napa wine, fishing
- Swiss neutralityimpartiality, non-intervention
- offshore financetax havens, tax haven, private banks, numbered accounts, secrecy laws
Swiss bankingopen banking
Authorized account data access
financial transparency · public disclosure · mandatory reporting
Swiss bankingcredit unions
Member-owned financial cooperatives
community banking · microfinance · payday lending · mobile money