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The
Swiss banking sector, which has been forced to give up its traditional secrecy,
is now looking to China for new financial investment.
“One
of the first ports that the Swiss financial center is steering for is the port
of China,” Claude Alain Margelisch, chief executive of the
Swiss Bankers Association, told reporters in Geneva this week, AFP reported.
The
two countries have already taken small financial steps towards one another- a
free trade agreement came into force this year, and the countries’ central
banks also agreed on Swiss franc and yuan currency swaps in July.
Switzerland
is home to more than US$2 trillion in assets, or 26 percent of global offshore
assets in more than 300 private banks. But in 2017, it will be forced to give
up its secret banking practices after agreeing with the US and EU to enter a
data transparency program. So now it is looking east.
“Together
with our member banks, we want to make Switzerland an international hub for the
renminbi, also known as the yuan,” Margelisch said.
In
May, Switzerland, which has built its financial foundation on banking secrecy, signed
an agreement with the US and the EU to end the practice.
Swiss
bankers worry this will make the country less attractive for investment.
Not
only are private Swiss banks looking for new sources of revenue, but they have
also faced investigations and massive fines from countries accusing them of
abetting tax dodging.
“The
Swiss financial center and the Swiss banks have recognized the need for
action,” said Margelisch.
The
US has an especially tumultuous relationship with Switzerland over tax evasion,
and has threatened billions in claims if the country didn’t make its banking
more transparent.
In February 2014, Credit
Suisse was accused by the US Senate of holding more than 12 billion Swiss
francs for more than 22,000 American clients.
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