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Negotiating over Banking Secrecy: The Case of Switzerland and the European Union

Author

Listed:
  • Alexandre Ziegler

    (HEC, University of Lausanne and FAME)

  • François-Xavier Delaloye

    (HEC, University of Lausanne)

  • Michel Habib

    (Swiss Banking Institute, University of Zurich)

Abstract

Over the period 2002 to 2003,Switzerland and the European Union (EU) were engaged in negotiations regarding banking secrecy. The EU's stated goal was for Switzerland to abolish banking secrecy. Switzerland refused and offered to impose a withholding tax on interest income instead. The two parties eventually agreed on the latter solution. We examine the effect of these negotiations on the share prices of four Swiss banks: UBS, Credit Suisse Group (CSG), Julius Baer (Baer), and Vontobel. Overall, investors believe that bank profitability will not be impacted by the imposition of the withholding tax. The event-by-event response of the share prices differs across banks. Whereas the two universal banks (UBS and CSG) primarily react to the threat of sanctions on their EU-based operations, the private banks (Baer and Vontobel) react strongly to events suggesting that banking secrecy might be abolished.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexandre Ziegler & François-Xavier Delaloye & Michel Habib, 2005. "Negotiating over Banking Secrecy: The Case of Switzerland and the European Union," FAME Research Paper Series rp157, International Center for Financial Asset Management and Engineering.
    • Handle: RePEc:fam:rpseri:rp157
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    File URL: http://www.swissfinanceinstitute.ch/rp157.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Cuthbertson, Keith & Nitzsche, Dirk & O'Sullivan, Niall, 2008. "UK mutual fund performance: Skill or luck?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 613-634, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Banking Secrecy; Switzerland; Event Study;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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