Financial Transparency Coalition

Abu Dhabi: Banking secrecy in Switzerland does not provide protection against international tax offences, Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz said in an exclusive interview with Gulf News.

The chairman of the Swiss Bankers Association says the softening of Swiss banking secrecy laws has not led to any noticeable flow of assets out of the country.

The Swiss government said Wednesday it has agreed to revise existing pacts with Norway on double taxation, a move triggered by recent concessions made by Switzerland on banking secrecy.

If ever there was doubt about the role that banks actively play in tax evasion, the following article has laid it to rest. An article published by Bloomberg this week shares the thoughts of Bradley Birkenfeld, a former UBS private banker and admitted felon. From Bloomberg:

“This was a massive machine,” Birkenfeld told Senate investigators on Oct. 11, 2007. He said UBS bankers crisscrossed the U.S. -- without required licensing from the Securities and Exchange Commission -- to find wealthy American customers...

As many as 60 UBS private bankers trolled for clients at UBS-sponsored...