• Swiss banks provide some of the most secure and private services in the world.swiss image by Mitarart from Fotolia.com
  
  Swiss banks have historically operated without strong governmental oversight, and depositors enjoy a high degree of stability because of Switzerland's political neutrality. Many corporations and individuals not of Swiss nationality use Swiss bank accounts for these reasons. The nation's banks have an international reputation for their account privacy and security, although legislation in 2009 has amended Swiss law to quell accusations that Swiss banks are conduits for tax evasion.
  
  

Account Privacy

• Switzerland enforces strict laws regulating its banking industry when it comes to privacy. The Swiss Banking Act of 1934 mandated criminal penalties against banks and their officers if they compromised account-holder privacy. Only in circumstances of verifiable criminal activity may banks circumvent privacy policies. Furthermore, only certain bank officers may know the identity of account holders.
  
  

Disclosing Taxes

• The International Monetary Fund lists Switzerland as an "offshore center"---a tax haven that potentially allows foreign nationals and corporations to avoid taxation in their home countries. In addition, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2009 listed Switzerland as an uncooperative tax haven. Under Swiss law, tax evasion and tax fraud are two separate offenses, in contrast to the laws in many other countries. Tax evasion in Switzerland is not a criminal offense, only a civil one.
  
  

Changes to Swiss Laws

• After being added to a global blacklist of uncooperative tax havens, Switzerland agreed in 2009 to amend privacy regulations. Swiss banks are now obligated by international treaties to cooperate with criminal probes involving tax evasion. To protect law-abiding bank account holders and allay fears that the Swiss government is eroding its privacy rules, the nation says it will treat each probe on a case-by-case basis, and will not open accounts to scrutiny unless presented beforehand with evidence of tax evasion by the account-holder. Despite the amendments, Switzerland still views tax evasion as a civil infraction rather than a criminal one.