19 September 2011

Is Switzerland a safe place for your Money?

Recent reports about Swiss financial institutions refusing cash disbursements when clients demand them cast a very long shadow on Switzerland as a safe location for investors that traditionally have seen it as a bulwark against authorities in their native countries. We leave it to our readers to work their way through the various agreements between Switzerland and other countries (see for example the agreement with Germany) but the fact is that these are rubber paragraphs where the interests of the investors are right at the bottom of priorities and the interest of an overbearing state is right at the top. We would add that a perusal of the 'interpretation' by the Swiss Banker's Association or a 'position paper' issued by the Financial Regulator does not inspire more confidence either.