It was the little mouse that roared. Again. Liechtenstein, darling principality and sometime haven for revenues seeking shelter from Departments of Inland (and Outland) Revenue, neatly slid the thin blade of a double edged dagger between Switzerland’s sixth and seventh rib. The tiny country announced today that it would push through legislation to cooperate with OECD countries with respect to information sharing standards on tax data. Switzerland, which has been taking a hard line on the issue, seems to have been caught unaware and increasingly finds herself standing out alone and in the cold.
Switzerland has much to lose in this fight and is presently looking at its third major recessionary trigger. First was the significant exposure of the larger Swiss banks to toxic financial waste minted in the United States. Second, and currently beginning to unwind at a frightening pace, is her significant exposure to Eastern European debt denominated in Swiss Franc. Now this. The more pessimistic analysts believe that up to half of Switzerland’s deposits might flee the country if banking secrecy laws are badly gelded there. Considering that many of her larger institutions have been relying on their asset management divisions as the “crown jewels” of their portfolios, one wonders what lurks just around the bend.
Liechtenstein had considerably less to lose. After some rather insidious and clever espionage by German authorities to uncover the names of German citizens with deposits in Liechtenstein (in violation of Liechtenstein and, arguably, German law) Liechtenstein’s deposits have drained consistently. It was quite easy, therefore, for them to take the “high road.” Their reputation for banking secrecy was already in tatters after having been so brutally penetrated by the Germans. Leaving aside for a moment the historical irony implicit in the German intelligence apparatus snooping for names on Swiss accounts, it looks like banking secrecy in Central and Western Europe is going to be limited to Luxembourg. Where in the hell are we going to ski?
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“We” (read: you) are going to be skiing in New Jersey, because you don’t have a Swiss bank account.
Very nice, but seriously, where are these monies going to go now? Anyone who thinks that all of this “secret” $$ is all of the sudden going to subject itself to scrutiny is delusional.
So, serious questions, assuming any meaningful proportion of Swiss funds ceases to be such in the near future, where are said funds going to go?
UAE
Stay neutral Switzerland – show some damn pride.
~the Muleskinner~
Switzerland (itself) is the biggest ponzi on the planet
I hear Singapore is the new Switzerland as far as secret bank accounts go.
The only bad thing about about Singapore is the $2M minimum opening deposit. Gone are the days when you could walk down the Paradeplatz with $9,900 in USD and open an account, promising to return shortly with the rest.
It’s Helvetia, not Helvetica (adjective).
Belize
What about Caribbean accounts? I have clients that have their offshore accounts in Nassau. Could that be a replacement?
Panama is generally agreed to be the Switzerland of Central America.
Well it’s official name is CONFEDERATIO HELVETICA, so that’s where the fuck-up originates.
I would have thought our succulent little Belgian hostess would have better latin skillz, but maybe she’s vlaamse
@11 not panama in the past 15-20 years.
the caribbean has been pretty lame for q a while and expect the sir al stanford troubles to amke it difficult.
nassau etc, is sensible if you are not or have renouncerd US citizenship.
it was seychelles, nauru, andorra, a couple of friendlier south am places. san marino is nice idea
singapore, using a company full of chinese nominee directors seems popular. anyone remember the austrian sparbuch? salad days indeed.
I’m venturing down to the South Caribbean in a few days, I’ll be sure to report back on any success (failure) I encounter with regards to establishing “protective” accounts and the like
Vanuatu
And if Marc Giradlli can ski out of Lux so can you!
Nothing beats the Cook Islands. Even if they find out the money in your account is stolen, they don’t care. They have absolutely no diplomatic relations with anyone except New Zealand, so they really be pressured to do anything.