ICG has been offering Swiss private banking access services for the past 15 years. Our experience and role as External Manager with the best private banks in Switzerland is valuable to our clients and partners globally.


Banking in Switzerland is characterized by stability, privacy and protection of clients' assets and information. The country's tradition of bank secrecy, which dates to the Middle Ages, was first codified in a 1934 law. All banks in Switzerland are regulated by Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), which derives its authority from a series of federal statutes.
 

Currently an estimated one-third of all funds held outside the country of origin (called "offshore" funds) are kept in Switzerland. By 2007 this figure had reached roughly 6.7 trillion Swiss francs (US$5.7 trillion). 

Swiss bank secrecy does not protect private banking information; the protections afforded under Swiss law are similar to confidentiality protections between doctors and patients or lawyers and their clients. Swiss law distinguishes between tax evasion (non-reporting of income) and tax fraud (active deception). International legal assistance is only granted with respect to tax fraud. In domestic prosecutions, banking secrecy may be lifted by court order in cases of tax fraud or particularly severe cases of tax evasion.

The Swiss government views the right to privacy as a fundamental principle that should be protected by all democratic countries. While secrecy is protected, in practice all bank accounts are linked to an identified individual, and a prosecutor or judge may issue a "lifting order" in order to grant law enforcement access to information relevant to a criminal investigation.

Pressure on Switzerland has been applied by several states and international organizations attempting to alter the Swiss privacy policy. Since July 1, 2005, Switzerland has charged a withholding tax on all interest earned in the personal Swiss accounts of European Union residents.

 In January 2003, the United States Department of Treasury announced a new information-sharing agreement intended to facilitate more effective tax information exchange between the two countries. However, Swiss policy has continued to come under international criticism, and in March 2009 Switzerland agreed to renegotiate more effective tax cooperation with the United States and other countries.