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The Origins of the Swiss Banking Secrecy Law and Its Repercussions for Swiss Federal Policy

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  • Guex, Sébastien

Abstract

For all its notoriety and controversial character, the history of Swiss banking secrecy remains largely unexplored. This article traces the crucial phases of its development. It reveals that the maintenance and reinforcement of banking secrecy represented a major objective of Swiss authorities throughout the twentieth century, and exerted a substantial influence on Swiss domestic and foreign policy. It demonstrates that, contrary to popular opinion, the institution of Swiss banking secrecy did not arise from a desire to protect the funds deposited in Switzerland by Jewish victims of Nazi persecution but rather had substantially different origins. Moreover, this article shows that Swiss banking secrecy gave rise to tensions between Switzerland and the Great Powers, especially during and after World War II, when it poisoned relations between Switzerland and the United States.

Suggested Citation

  • Guex, Sébastien, 2000. "The Origins of the Swiss Banking Secrecy Law and Its Repercussions for Swiss Federal Policy," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 74(2), pages 237-266, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buhirw:v:74:y:2000:i:02:p:237-266_07
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    Cited by:

    1. François-Xavier Delaloye & Michel Habib & Alexandre Ziegler, 2012. "Swiss banking secrecy: the stock market evidence," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 26(1), pages 143-176, March.
    2. Sol Picciotto, 2022. "Technocracy in the Era of Twitter: Between intergovernmentalism and supranational technocratic politics in global tax governance," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 634-652, July.
    3. Farquet, Christophe & Leimgruber, Matthieu, 2016. "Explaining the failure of international tax regulations throughout the 20th century. Offshore Markets, Swiss Tax Haven's Diplomacy and Fiscal Debates in International Organizations, From the League of," Working Papers unige:88348, University of Geneva, Paul Bairoch Institute of Economic History.
    4. Christoph Farquet, 2012. "The Rise Of The Swiss Tax Haven In The Interwar Period: An International Comparison," Working Papers 0027, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    5. Daniel Haberly & Dariusz Wójcik, 2020. "The end of the great inversion: offshore national banks and the global financial crisis [European financial cross-border consolidation: at the crossroads in]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(6), pages 1263-1292.

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