As in most of continental Europe, individuals usually buy and sell stocks and bonds through their banks. The Swiss banks have a long reputation for managing investment portfolios for their clients, and providing other services such as estate planning, wealth management, trust companies, etc., for individual customers. Private banks are those which are not incorporated, and hence the entirety of their partners' assets are available to meet the liabilities of the bank. They are primarily associated with portfolio management for private clients. Banks in most countries are prohibited from divulging information about their clients, and the provisions of the Swiss law follow the same lines.
Swiss law is very strict on any breech of confidentiality, whether in banking or in other commerce.
These portions of the banking law have been interpreted, both in practice and by the courts, to make it a serious offense to divulge any information about a bank customer to a third party, including official requests of foreign governments, except in some very special and clearly defined situations. Swiss bank secrecy is reinforced by a constant awareness of the seriousness of the bank's obligation to maintain confidentiality, starting with bank employees having to sign the secrecy portion of the banking act as a condition of employment. While this culture of absolute discrection is integral to the Swiss banks, the branch offices outside of Switzerland must operate according to the law of the particular jurisdiction, which may not provide so much protection. The usual account records omit reference to the customer's name or other identifying information, replacing it with a code number or the pseudonym. The relationship between the code number or pseudonym and the actual customer is known only to a few senior managers and their secretaries within the bank.