Uncertainty still surrounds whether or not UBS will be forced to reveal the identities of 52,000 US taxpayers holding offshore accounts in Switzerland, in spite of claims that a deal has been reached between the US and Swiss governments.
Rather than wait for a ruling, most Swiss banks are going ahead and restructuring their business models to adjust to the post-secrecy reality.
“Some people are predicting the end of offshore banking, but this is very premature,” says Jeremy Jensen, lead wealth management partner for the Emea region at PwC, the professional services firm. “The era of absolute banking secrecy has gone. We are now moving into a period of ‘compliant confidentiality'.”