Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

Tax justice Network has reported that the veil of Swiss banking secrecy is quietly being lifted — by Switzerland. This is the first line of a New York Times story, following the problems that Switzerland's embattled UBS bank has been having with the US authorities who are understandably angry about testimony and evidence (not to mention common knowledge) that Swiss banks have been helping American clients engage in criminal tax evasion

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Bloomberg has reported that Switzerland asked the U.S. not to pressure UBS AG for client data located in the Alpine country as investigators look into whether the world's largest wealth manager helped American clients evade taxes.

According to Swiss law, bank secrecy can only be lifted in connection with a criminal offense, such as tax fraud or money laundering. Tax evasion isn't a crime in Switzerland. Should the finance ministry agree for the account details to be given out, account holders would be informed before their details are handed over, giving them the option to go to court.

According to the Financial Times, Senior executives at UBS, the Swiss bank being investigated by US authorities, knew some of their bankers had acted in a way that meant they risked breaching American securities laws at least a year before the US inquiries began. This is demonstrated by a letter.