Loss of banking secrecy seen helping Swiss wealth managers expand overseas

Geneva

SWISS banks that aren't dependent on the country's crumbling financial secrecy laws may find international expansion easier than those that sold hidden accounts in the past, according to Switzerland's financial supervisor.

"The shift away from businesses which rely on some elements of banking secrecy is changing the perception" of Swiss wealth managers abroad, Mark Branson, chief executive of Finma, said on a panel at an event in Bern, Switzerland, hosted by the Swiss Bankers Association on Monday evening. "Many of our banks have a strong interest in international activity," he added.