Secrecy trouble for Swiss Banking.

This is the second and concluding article on the confrontation between the U.S. and Switzerland on the matter of the secrecy laws governing Swiss banking.

For the Swiss running a Bank without the aid of secrecy laws, is like trying to make chees without milk. Can be quite confusing! Secrecy has been the major attraction of Swiss banking and its engine for growth over the centuries.
Now with unrelenting pressure from the U.S. to disclose the names of about 52,000 American citizens holding secret accounts with the Swiss banking giant, the Union Bank of Switzerland, the Swiss are at their wit’s end on how to deal with this threat to their survival as secret bankers to the world.
The Swiss Government holds that the UBS would be violating Swiss laws by making the above disclosure about its U.S. clients. And that it might be constrained to intervene in the matter by seize the relative records before they are handed over to the U.S. authorities. But the fact is that UBS has already pleaded guilty to the charges leveled against it by the U.S. Government of aiding and abetting tax evasion by its citizens, and has also agreed to pay penalties of USD 780.00 million to the U.S. What’s more, it even admitted to it’s personnel visiting the U.S. to solicit such business.
Having thus admitted to being party to violation of U.S. Tax laws, the Swiss have a weak case going for them, when they cite the violation of their own laws in regard to the disclosure, the U.S. has demanded. And the Americans are not letting of this opportunity, with the State Department, the Treasury, the Justice Department, and the IRS co-ordinating their efforts to nail the Swiss banking system.
The U.S., in fact, has registered partial success in the case, by prying out the names and account details of 250 to 300 of its citizens maintaining secret accounts with the UBS. Having tasted blood, the the Americans want more. And the Swiss, on their part, are not at all secretive of their resentment of this.

Concluded.