| Switzerland is the world's largest offshore | | | | breech of confidentiality, whether in banking |
| financial center; larger than London, New | | | | or in other commerce. All banking Employees |
| York or even Frankfurt. | | | | must sign the secrecy portion of the banking |
| | | | act as a condition of employment. The banking |
| The Swiss banking sector as a whole has | | | | act also adds a special section making it a |
| established this dominant position through a | | | | criminal offense, with the possibility of |
| long tradition of political, economic and | | | | jail, time for any employee or agent who has |
| financial stability and some key principles, | | | | been deemed to have improperly divulged any |
| one of which is Swiss banking secrecy. | | | | confidential information. These portions of |
| | | | the banking law have been interpreted, both |
| Swiss bankers have also built a solid | | | | in practice and by the courts, to make it a |
| reputation for managing investment portfolios | | | | serious offense to divulge any information |
| for their clients and providing a wide array | | | | about a bank customer to a third party, |
| of services such as estate planning, wealth | | | | including official requests from foreign |
| management, trust companies, Gold | | | | governments. |
| numismatics, Derivatives and confidential | | | | |
| brokerage accounts. | | | | It's no small wonder that Swiss bankers are |
| | | | very popular in the world of offshore |
| Swiss law is especially strict about any | | | | banking. |