L'essentiel

February 22, 2024

Liquidity in case of crisis

The Federal Council will soon publish its report on the "too big to fail" rules and detail in which areas they should be strengthened. For private banks, one priority is to enlarge the possibilities to obtain liquidity in case of crisis.
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November 29, 2023

Trust in Swiss Law, rental value and bank secrecy

This time, the last edition of “L’essentiel” focuses on three topics that will be discussed during the next Council of States session: the trust in Swiss Law, the rental value taxation and the protection of the bank secrecy. For each theme, the ASPB recommends the status quo.
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September 6, 2023

New revision of the Anti-Money Laundering Act

More than closing loopholes, the new AMLA revision aims at keeping the Swiss rules against money laundering up to date. This time, banks are not in focus, contrary to legal entities and non-financial professions.
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February 28, 2023

No confiscation without criminal act

On February 15, 2023, the Federal Council confirmed that the confiscation of private assets without compensation is forbidden in Switzerland, as long as their origin is not illegal. The Parliament should follow this line.
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September 6, 2022

International company taxation

The minimum tax of the OECD must be implemented in order to preserve Switzerland's interests. The ASPB supports the Federal Council's project as modified by the EATC-S.
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February 22, 2022

The Swiss trust only needs rules under civil law, not tax law.

On January 12, 2022, the Federal Council opened a consultation on the introduction of trusts in the Swiss legislation. Unfortunately, the draft law deems it necessary to also modify the tax regime applied to foreign trusts since 2007, which makes the whole project unattractive.
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November 25, 2021

The pension cake needs yield to grow

The National Council will examine in this session for the first time the new proposal on the occupational benefit provision (2nd pillar). In its latest publication, the ASPB presents the impact of the majority versions on the 2nd pillar pensions compared to today, while recalling the critical role of yield as the "third contributor".
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September 8, 2021

Withholding tax and stamp duties reforms

The ASPB supports the withholding tax and stamp duties reforms currently debated in Parliament. These reforms will more than cover their costs thanks to the new activities they will allow to develop in Switzerland, in particular in the field of green bonds. These bonds are needed to finance greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects.
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February 24, 2021

Switzerland will be better off with the EU framework agreement than without it

The Association of Swiss Private Banks has been advocating for two years for the signing of the framework agreement with the EU. Its stance has not changed, even if this agreement will not bring any direct improvement to the export of financial services. Switzerland will be in a better position with the framework agreement than without it.
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December 11, 2020

Switzerland must revise its indirect taxes, that scare off many activities.

A dynamic view of the partial abolition of the withholding tax and stamp duties shows that tax losses would be compensated for within a short time. These reforms should therefore be considered as investments rather than costs.
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September 2, 2020

Switzerland needs anti-money laundering rules that are effective, but not naive

For the Association of Swiss Private Banks, the Council of States should enter into discussion of the revision of the Anti-Money Laundering Act and add some limits to the powers of the money laundering reporting office (MROS).
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March 26, 2020

The anti-money laundering law must be revised so that Switzerland may leave the FATF’s enhanced follow-up process

In December 2016, the FATF issued the 4th mutual evaluation report on Switzerland, which recognises the good quality of its regime to fight money laundering and terrorism financing. In some areas however, it points out weaknesses in the rules or in the regime’s efficiency and expects improvements from Switzerland. By 13 votes to 12, the Legal Affairs Committee of the National Council refused to discuss a revision of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), which could subject Switzerland to hefty critics.
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November 26, 2019

The relationship between Switzerland and the European Union must be normalised and stability restored

The initiative to abolish the bilateral agreements must be rejected and the cohesion Billion must be adopted. The ASPB thus supports Switzerland's contribution to selected EU member states and rejects the initiative for moderate immigration.
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September 12, 2019

The financial sector already largely supports sustainability

After the National Council rejected the new version of the CO2 law, the Environment, Spacial Planning and Energy Committee of the Council of States (ESPEC-S) proposes a range of measures to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement. The ESPEC-S believes the financial sector must also contribute to reaching these objectives and has submitted three postulates to that end. The Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) supports these, up to a certain point.
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February 28, 2019

The Framework Agreement with the EU has been well negotiated and deserves support

With no intention of joining the EU at all, the Swiss private banks are defending the bilateral path taken twenty years ago. In order to be able to continue along this path, the framework agreement deserves to be accepted after years of negotiations, even if some questions remain unanswered. Otherwise, relations with the EU will continue to deteriorate. The EU is and remains our most important trading partner.
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December 6, 2018

Free access to the markets where bank clients reside is essential

The members of the Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) employ close to 5’400 persons in Switzerland and manage more than 800 billion in assets, which is more than 11% of the funds deposited in the country. An important part of their clients is domiciliated abroad, mainly in the EU, where 40% of the foreign private wealth deposited in Switzerland come from. It is essential that clients can be served in their country of residence. Having to wait for them passively in Switzerland represents a competitive disadvantage which is likely to worsen over time, as a result of an increasingly protectionist legislative framework. This is why the ASPB insists on the strategic importance of improving market access.
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September 4, 2018

Foreign financial sanctions should be deductible in case they have no equivalent in Swiss law

For one year, the Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) has supported the full deduction of foreign sanctions. In the meantime, the Council of States refused this solution, while noting that a middle way should be found between full deduction and absence of deduction. The proposition of the Economic affairs and Taxation Committees of the national Council goes in that direction. The ASPB supports this solution, but wishes a clarification concerning the damages.
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February 22, 2018

Prudential rules must not be identical for all banks

Regulation is a necessary evil to avoid a « wild » practice of certain professions. Many areas, however, suffer from an excess of rules, which obliges them to spend more and more time documenting the execution of their activity - at the expense of the latter. This administrative burden is especially heavy for banks, whereas the Swiss law imposes to respect the principle of proportionality, which means to be limited to what is necessary.
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November 28, 2017

Taxation: Switzerland is moving in the right direction

A withdrawal of the Matter Initiative seems likely if the Federal Council definitely abandons its criminal tax law reform. As for the withholding tax, a parliamentarian initiative plans to replace it by a tax levied by banks on interest income. The Association of Swiss Private Banks supports these developments, because the withholding tax hinders international competitiveness and can be improved by focusing on its safeguard function.
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September 4, 2017

Foreign financial sanctions must be deductible in Switzerland

At the end of 2016, the Federal Council sent to the Swiss Parliament a draft federal law about the tax treatment of financial penalties. This draft is now in the hands of the Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee of the Council of States. The Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) wants to shed light on the non-deductibility of penal sanctions. According to the ASPB, this measure can only have meaning in a purely Swiss context, since foreign penalties go against the Swiss legal system.
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February 27, 2017

AEoI: a last verification before its implementation!

Since January 1st, 2017, Swiss banks have started collecting tax data for 38 countries. The government proposes to add 41 new countries next year. Which corresponds to Swiss commitments. But an authorisation from Parliament should not exempt the government from verifying again the existence of a "level playing field" and the confidentiality of information before sending client data in September 2019.
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December 2, 2016

Counterproposal to the Matter initiative: the paragraph 6 must be removed

The paragraph 6 of the counterproposal allows a bank, with the client’s permission, to disclose his information to the tax authorities. Many banks will then only accept clients who provide this authorisation. While the paragraph 6 is meant to avoid the automatic exchange of information in Switzerland, it will enable it. To be consistent, this paragraph must be removed.
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September 14, 2016

FinSA and FinIA shall strengthen the Swiss financial centre

The access to foreign financial markets is vital to a country with a solid financial centre. FinSA and FinIA bring Switzerland closer to that market access. The latest proposals of the independent asset managers point in the right direction.
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February 24, 2016

Switzerland needs a consistent taxation system

Rarely has an issue of such significance been put to the vote, while merely asking for the current situation to be maintained. The initiative "Yes to the protection of privacy", as well as its direct counter-proposal, aim to inscribe in the constitution the current law on tax offences. It is up to the Swiss people to determine the future of banking secrecy for Swiss residents. However, a refusal of the status quo would send a strong signal in favour of further weakening. In any case, Switzerland needs a consistent taxation system.
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November 27, 2015

Private Banks want to contribute to Switzerland's quality of life

The banking sector represents approximately 6% of the Swiss GPD and more than 8% of the overall tax income of the country. In order to maintain these revenues, the banks should be given the opportunity to grow domestically.
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August 25, 2015

Weissgeldstrategie: Parliament has better to do than staking laws like Lego

The new draft proposed by the Federal Council to once more revise the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) is useless for Switzerland and harmful for its financial centre. Fortunately, the competent commission of the National Council saw through that.
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June 12, 2015

Automatic exchange of information: why such haste?

The agreement with Australia should not be executed at once. Parliament should ponder the reasonableness of granting an automatic exchange of information to Australia, or any other country outside the EU, before other important financial centres have pledged the same.
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February 1, 2015

FINMA and its regulatory and supervisory activities

The Federal Council has been mandated to draft a report about FINMA by March 2015. This report, entitled “FINMA and its regulatory and supervisory activities”, was published on December 18, 2014. The private banks worry about the Federal Council’s refusal to open discussions on the parliamentary initiative Lüscher.
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September 2, 2014

Automatic exchange of information: a reality to harness

The time has come to implement the standard prepared by the OECD. On May 6, 2014, Switzerland announced its willingness to adopt this new standard, along with 65 other countries. It is now up to Parliament to ensure that Switzerland coordinates its position with the other important financial centres instead of positioning itself as the most diligent country to automatically exchange information.
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ARCHIVES

Annual reports

Annual report 2022

The Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) publishes this week its 2022 Annual Report, which reviews and analyses the subjects covered by the ASPB between April 2022 and March 2023. Although the implementation of the sanctions against Russia and the rescue of Credit Suisse by UBS have marked these twelve months, the priorities of the ASPB in 2023 remain market access, sustainability and a competitive tax framework.
Rapport annuel 2022 (FR) Jahresbericht 2022 (DE) Order
printed version

Annual report 2021

The Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) publishes this week its 2021 Annual Report, which reviews and analyses the subjects covered by the ASPB between April 2021 and March 2022. The main priority topics for the ASPB are: Switzerland's relations with the EU, the development of sustainable finance, the fiscal attractiveness of Switzerland and the cybersecurtiy.
Jahresbericht 2021 (DE) Order
printed version

Annual report 2020

The Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) publishes today its 2020 Annual Report, which reviews and analyses the subjects covered by the ASPB between April 2020 and March 2021. The three priority topics for the ASPB are: Switzerland's relations with the EU, the development of sustainable finance and the taxation of Swiss financial products.
Rapport annuel 2020 (FR) Jahresbericht 2020 (DE)

Annual report 2019

The Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) publishes today its 2019 Annual Report, which reviews and analyses the subjects covered by the ASPB between April 2019 and March 2020. The three priority topics for the ASPB are: Switzerland's relations with the EU, the development of sustainable finance and the abolition of the negotiation stamp duty.
Rapport annuel 2019 (FR) Jahresbericht 2019 (DE)

Annual Report 2018

The Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) today publishes its 2018 Annual Report, which reviews and analyses the subjects covered by the ASPB between April 2018 and March 2019. The ASPB focuses on three themes: Switzerland's relations with the EU, the development of sustainable finance and training in the area of new technologies.
Rapport annuel 2018 (FR) Jahresbericht 2018 (DE)

Annual Report 2017

The Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) published its 2017 Annual Report today. In the report, the ASPB reviews and analyses developments between April 2017 and March 2018 which affect the various issues it monitors. Positive changes over the past year include the loosening of certain regulations by FINMA, the adoption of a mechanism to safeguard data privacy in the context of the automatic exchange of information, and the active promotion of the Swiss Financial Centre. Nevertheless, a number of challenges remain, from improving market access to implementing pragmatic international standards and a stable and competitive fiscal framework.
Press release (EN) Rapport annuel 2017 (FR) Jahresbericht 2017 (DE)

Annual report 2016

The Annual Report 2016 published by the Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) reviews and analyses recent developments in the various issues it monitors and for which it advocates. Switzerland's efforts to adapt its financial regulations are starting to bear fruit, allowing the country to draw a line under its image as a tax haven. For Swiss private banks, the priorities are market access, the promotion of the Swiss financial centre and a sensible implementation of international standards.
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Annual report 2015

The Annual Report 2015 published by the Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) discusses events that influenced the key issues addressed by the ASPB throughout the year to the end of April 2016. This includes market access, the implementation of automatic exchange of tax information and adjustments to the anti-money laundering laws. In a highly interconnected world, Switzerland needs to ensure a level playing field for all financial services providers while refraining from any "Swiss finish".
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Annual report 2014

The Annual Report 2015 published by the Association of Swiss Private Banks (ASPB) discusses events that influenced the key issues addressed by the ASPB throughout the year to the end of April 2016. This includes market access, the implementation of automatic exchange of tax information and adjustments to the anti-money laundering laws. In a highly interconnected world, Switzerland needs to ensure a level playing field for all financial services providers while refraining from any "Swiss finish".
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Agenda

June 18, 2024

Private Banking Day 2024 in Geneva