Since the 1930s, business has negotiated agreements with Swiss trade unions that have prevented most strikes. So Swiss banks are probably still the safest place on earth for ill-gotten, or untaxed, dollars. Certain banking families in Geneva have personally handled the fortunes of their client families for many generations. Their discretion and security is probably unequaled worldwide. And these bankers know the business of investing private deposits.
Foreign clients walking into a Swiss bank can speak English or Spanish without any problems.
Swiss bankers expertise is complemented by Switzerland s technical infrastructure, ranging from airports to telex communications, which usually run efficiently. And Switzerland s location in the center of Europe allows typcial foreign clients to visit their Swiss bank once a year, on the way to skiing vacations in St. Moritz or Zermatt. This is a comparative advantage with which Luxembourg and other financial centers cannot compete. Keeping secrets A legal system which places a premium on banking secrecy is yet another attraction to depositors looking to hide their money. Swiss banking secrecy laws are not stricter than those of their competitors in Austria or Luxemburg - for example, Swiss bankers are required to know their clients, and their Austrian competitors are not.