Capital Conservator » Swiss Private Banking

UBS FACES UP TO CHANGING OFFSHORE PRIVATE BANKING MODEL

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:22:14 +0000

UBS Zurich HQ

Changes in the worldwide offshore private banking model and reputational damage from the losses of its investment banking arm mean UBS may continue to suffer private banking outflows. Whereas previously clients at UBS could rely on strict bank secrecy and privacy tools like numbered bank accounts, fisticuffs with US authorities have rendered some of these services obsolete, while scaring away other investors. Many private banks are now taking a different approach to clients who may have undeclared tax liabilities, including greater due diligence and more paperwork. UBS says it continues to lose clients across the board with net new money outflows of 16.7 billion SFR at its wealth management business, which includes private banking, and losses from institutional investors and clients at its US brokerage.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091103-709514.html

SWISS BANKS STAY IN ITALY DESPITE LIGHTNING RAIDS

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:55:03 +0000

Despite a mix of generous tax amnesties and lightning police raids on their offices, Swiss banks in Italy are well position to re-receive Italian clients who leave their domestic Swiss operations, say experts.

Wealthy Italians Are Being Lured Out of Swiss Havens Like Lugano

The Italian branches of Swiss banks should receive enough Italian business to offset the majority of outflows should thousands of wealthy Italians pull out of Switzerland.

The generous amnesty offered by the Italian government means that Italian citizens face no loss if they re-invest in Swiss banks with whom they have built up a trusting relationship.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091029-718046.html

UNPUBLISHED DOC ILLUSTRATES FURTHER BANK SECRECY PLANS

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:41:31 +0000

United States and EU officials have plans to give themselves greater access to each other´s secret banking databases – reports German newspaper Handelsblatt. An unpublished paper from the office of the EU President indicates that authorities aim to track terror payments more ruthlessly by sharing access to banking information, rather than through simple reveiws of international wire transfers.

http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSLF3427120091015

TAX CRACKDOWN UNEARTHS OFFSHORE BANK ACCOUNT SECRETS

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:29:06 +0000

A six month amnesty programme for offshore account holders renewed last month has recived over 3000 applications, according to the IRS. The tax amnesty offers those with undisclosed offshore accounts the chance to escape heavier fines and criminal prosecution, in return for a full confession and full payment of back-taxes with interest. Many of the applicants held funds at Swiss bank UBS, and details of their offshore activity have recently come to light in court documents.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2009-10-13-ubs-tax-evasion_N.htm

FISHING EXPEDITIONS NOT WELCOME, SWISS BANKS SAY

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:04:44 +0000

”Indiscriminate” requests for confidential records will not be supported by Swiss banks, even once new OECD rules come into play, according to a leading figure in the Swiss banking industry. In a bid to calm HNWI’s worried over bank secrecy, SBA (Swiss Bankers Association) head Urs Roth reiterated that bank account details are still potected by thesecrecy law, as long as clients have not committed fraud. Switzerland would provide account information only on receiving ”justified requests” concerning individual cases, Roth said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hxXBmklxW-igU5eRlJV8lEOpMDYQ

PRIVATE BANKS HIT BY COST OF GREATER TRANSPARENCY

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:21:38 +0000

Private wealth managers have learnt to be more transparent the hard way, but new measures will increase the cost of operations, prompting further consolidation among private banks. A year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the combination of volatile markets, $65 billion madoff fraud, and the relaxation of bank secrecy rules have conspired to undermine private banker-client relations.

http://www.reuters.com/article/GlobalWealthManagement09/idUSTRE59156X20091002

ING AGREES SALE OF SWISS PRIVATE BANKING UNIT

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:27:02 +0000

Dutch bank and insurer ING Group agreed Wednesday to sell it Swiss Private Banking unit to Swiss private bank Julius Baer for 520 million CHF ($505 million), in order to honour a 10 billion euro government bailout loan it received a year ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/business/global/08ing.html