Regardless of whether or not the OCCRP’s allegations are true, it is clear that Switzerland is no longer the haven of banking secrecy it once was. Credit Suisse has strengthened its compliance practices greatly in recent years and, given its reputation has already been highly damaged, it is difficult to imagine that the bank would have continued with such reproachable behavior.
This weekend’s allegations are the latest example of Swiss banks being identified as black boxes of misconduct that take advantage of a legal system that prioritizes money-making at the expense of ethics and fairness. Ignorance of the recent legal and political reforms in the country, coupled with a legendary view of the Swiss banker (popularized by Hollywood’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” and Showtime’s “Billions”) explain this phenomenon. But also, the inability and unwillingness of Switzerland to countervail this image has created a dark legend about its economy that will last for generations.
The reality is that Switzerland is a law-abiding, tax-compliant, and obedient country that has reformed what was a perfectly defensible business model (a race to the bottom in corporate taxation and movement of capital) so as to please bigger economies where tax evasion and corruption are indeed a generalized problem. My own taxes have been inspected carefully by the authorities every single year since I arrived in the country.