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Former banker here, familiar with Swiss practices. They have done so much more bad things, things not mentioned in this thread. And after the US intervened, t

Former banker here, familiar with Swiss practices. They have done so much more bad things, things not mentioned in this thread. And after the US intervened, they carried on with the same, just even more sophisticated. How Swiss banking has a good name should be beyond anyone. Assume it is all careful, decade long marketing and PR stuff. I in details know about some internal things regarding employee conduct which is Holywood material worthy.

throwawaylinux 4y ago
Did the US intervene because the Swiss were taking much of the cartel laundering market away from their institutions? Banks don't have a good name, it's not just the Swiss. I mean they have a good name among the corrupt and the rich who love their help laundering money, skirting laws, and socializing their losses. Among the common person, regard for banks probably sits somewhere between politician and lawyer.
- omgomgomgomg 4y ago
  Do not worry about the Swiss, they know to launder money even without american clientele. They have many buddies in Liechtenstein with odd funds, charities never yet seen in the so called leaks. The historic reasons for the us taking a at the swiss have been the hidden, non declared tax moneys from american people and corporations. The Swiss had a cloaking system in place called banking secrecy, it was even codified into law. America wanted whats owed to them and that was it. Swiss bankers would fly to the us physically, in person, pick up funds and goods like diamonds and transport them to switzerland without declaring anything. All the little tricks like labelling the funds fraudulently, diamonds in a toothpaste tube, that was part of the service portfolio. The us promised to sue and the whole decisionmakers knew they will be safe nowehere but in switzerland, a small country with sub par weather, and if the us got hold of them, they will spend a good time of their lifes behind bars. The swiss banking secrecy laws were thus burried for good. The swiss still had the cheek to blather about data protection and privacy and then agreed to hand over a portfolio of "suspicious" accounts. How hypocritical this was was shown later on, when it became impossible in switzerland and europe for americans to open bank accounts unless employed in Switzerland and being residents. You say banks have a bad reputation overall, but somehow the swiss banks had a better reputation, even though they are on a level with a carribean tax haven operator.
  - throwawaylinux 4y ago
    Swiss banks did not have a better reputation. The idea of rich people and criminals having "Swiss bank accounts" to evade taxes and launder money was a pop culture trope from before you or I were born.
  - IG_Semmelweiss 4y ago
    The US is the top destination for money laundering in the world .. .Bar none
  - ragnot 4y ago
    You gotta give credit to the Americans, they know how to twist an arm.
MichaelMoser123 4y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_National_Bank#World_War_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_National_Bank#World_War_... During world war II the swiss national bank took all of the gold looted by the nazis - these were astronomical sums, it's really a shameful chapter of their history which is not widely known. In addition to turning back Jewish refugees at the border. Also the swiss government even requested the nazis to mark the passports of Jews, so that they could be better turned down at the border. https://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/microsoft%20word%20-%206062.pdf https://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/microsoft%20word%20-%2060... Also there was a big court case during the nineties, because credit suisse withheld the money of holocaust victims, while at the same time former nazi officials had no problems with their accounts - all at the same bank. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Jewish_Congress_lawsuit_against_Swiss_banks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Jewish_Congress_lawsuit_... https://www.ft.com/content/f80088e4-5f0d-11ea-8033-fa40a0d65a98 https://www.ft.com/content/f80088e4-5f0d-11ea-8033-fa40a0d65...
- david927 4y ago
  I don't want to interrupt your strange missive against the Swiss but they took Jewish refugees during WWII and it provoked Germany. Hitler called Switzerland "the mortal enemy of the Third Reich" and while, yes, their banks took their money, so did US banks like Chase.
  - MichaelMoser123 4y ago
    > yes, their banks took their money, so did US banks like Chase Well, it's a question of scale: swiss banks took in hundreds of billions of swiss francs out of the loot - that must be an astronomical figure, in today's money. But even that has apparently been squandered by the super competent swiss bankers...
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

throwawaylinux 4y ago

Did the US intervene because the Swiss were taking much of the cartel laundering market away from their institutions? Banks don't have a good name, it's not just the Swiss. I mean they have a good name among the corrupt and the rich who love their help laundering money, skirting laws, and socializing their losses. Among the common person, regard for banks probably sits somewhere between politician and lawyer.

omgomgomgomg 4y ago
Do not worry about the Swiss, they know to launder money even without american clientele. They have many buddies in Liechtenstein with odd funds, charities never yet seen in the so called leaks. The historic reasons for the us taking a at the swiss have been the hidden, non declared tax moneys from american people and corporations. The Swiss had a cloaking system in place called banking secrecy, it was even codified into law. America wanted whats owed to them and that was it. Swiss bankers would fly to the us physically, in person, pick up funds and goods like diamonds and transport them to switzerland without declaring anything. All the little tricks like labelling the funds fraudulently, diamonds in a toothpaste tube, that was part of the service portfolio. The us promised to sue and the whole decisionmakers knew they will be safe nowehere but in switzerland, a small country with sub par weather, and if the us got hold of them, they will spend a good time of their lifes behind bars. The swiss banking secrecy laws were thus burried for good. The swiss still had the cheek to blather about data protection and privacy and then agreed to hand over a portfolio of "suspicious" accounts. How hypocritical this was was shown later on, when it became impossible in switzerland and europe for americans to open bank accounts unless employed in Switzerland and being residents. You say banks have a bad reputation overall, but somehow the swiss banks had a better reputation, even though they are on a level with a carribean tax haven operator.
- throwawaylinux 4y ago
  Swiss banks did not have a better reputation. The idea of rich people and criminals having "Swiss bank accounts" to evade taxes and launder money was a pop culture trope from before you or I were born.
- IG_Semmelweiss 4y ago
  The US is the top destination for money laundering in the world .. .Bar none
- ragnot 4y ago
  You gotta give credit to the Americans, they know how to twist an arm.

MichaelMoser123 4y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_National_Bank#World_War_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_National_Bank#World_War_... During world war II the swiss national bank took all of the gold looted by the nazis - these were astronomical sums, it's really a shameful chapter of their history which is not widely known. In addition to turning back Jewish refugees at the border. Also the swiss government even requested the nazis to mark the passports of Jews, so that they could be better turned down at the border. https://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/microsoft%20word%20-%206062.pdf https://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/microsoft%20word%20-%2060... Also there was a big court case during the nineties, because credit suisse withheld the money of holocaust victims, while at the same time former nazi officials had no problems with their accounts - all at the same bank. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Jewish_Congress_lawsuit_against_Swiss_banks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Jewish_Congress_lawsuit_... https://www.ft.com/content/f80088e4-5f0d-11ea-8033-fa40a0d65a98 https://www.ft.com/content/f80088e4-5f0d-11ea-8033-fa40a0d65...

david927 4y ago
I don't want to interrupt your strange missive against the Swiss but they took Jewish refugees during WWII and it provoked Germany. Hitler called Switzerland "the mortal enemy of the Third Reich" and while, yes, their banks took their money, so did US banks like Chase.
- MichaelMoser123 4y ago
  > yes, their banks took their money, so did US banks like Chase Well, it's a question of scale: swiss banks took in hundreds of billions of swiss francs out of the loot - that must be an astronomical figure, in today's money. But even that has apparently been squandered by the super competent swiss bankers...

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]