Swiss banks bar executives from travelling abroad: report

28 March 2009

Private banks in Switzerland have slapped a ban on their top executives travelling abroad for fear of detention as regulators overseas frown on the extreme secrecy of Swiss banks amidst raging fears of financial management at banks and other financial institutions the world over.

The move comes in the wake of last year's detention of a senior private banker from UBS by the US authorities, as part of a federal tax investigation.

Most private banks in Switzerland now won't even allow their top executives to travel to neighbouring France and Germany, because of fear that they would be detained as part of a global crackdown on bank secrecy, media reports said.

Since countries like the US and Germany are at the forefront of the crackdown on banks to tackle tax evasion and secrecy, most private banks in Switzerland  are forced to take extra precautions lest their executives are detained in other countries, according to the report.

The travel ban has mainly been intended for the US and all banks have not joined the travel ban, the report published online said.

The Financial Times even cited sources in the private banking industry in Geneva as saying that some banks are imposing universal ban on its employees travelling abroad.