Indian money in Swiss banks drops to record low of Rs8,392 cr

Money held by Indians in Swiss Banks fell to a record low of Rs8,392 crore (1,217 million Swiss francs) at the end of 2015, said latest data from the Swiss National Bank (SNB). The fall was nearly by two-thirds of the Rs23,000 crore stashed in December of 2006.

This was the lowest amounts held by Indians in Swiss banks since the data was officially released in 1997 for the first time. Last year too (2014), the fall was a record figure, with the amount hovering around 1,776 million Swiss francs.

The SNB's data on "amounts due to their clients" or "liabilities" does not mean or indicate anything about India's hotly debated black money numbers, PTI notes. Neither does it factor in accounts kept by Indians under names or entities registered outside India in a foreign country.

The SNB data said the amount held by all foreign individuals and entities saw a near 4 per cent fall to 1.41 trillion Swiss francs (about Rs98 lakh crore) from the previous year.

Giving a break down in the accounts held by Indians, SNB said while the total amount held directly by Indians was 1,206.71 million Swiss francs, fiduciaries or wealth managers managed accounts of another 10.89 million. Fiduciaries accounts too saw a 71 per cent fall from 37.92 million Swiss francs stashed at 2014-end; it used to be in billions till 2007.

Savings and Deposit account liabilities saw a 61 per cent fall to 425.8 million Swiss francs in a year period. However, the money held through other banks doubled to 270.4 million Swiss francs. Funds held in the form of securities by Indians grew from 297 million Swiss francs to 510.4 million.

According to PTI, the regulatory crackdown from countries across the globe, including India, had led to a fall in Swiss amount. It noted that the Swiss secrecy wall was crumbling for Indians who are under scrutiny by many measures back home.

A Supreme Court monitored special investigative team (SIT), a new law to clampdown hoarding black money abroad, anti money laundering act and compliance window offer by government of India was tightening the noose.

India is one of the early adopters of the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) standards approved by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Switzerland is set to adopt the standards by 2018.