Swiss Bankers Slam Over-Regulation
There is concern amongst Swiss bankers that the sector is over-regulated, the
AFP news agency reported at the weekend. Speaking at a debate organised by the Swiss Bankers' Association last Thursday,
Swiss Private Bankers Asociation president, Niklaus Baumann reportedly revealed
that financial burden imposed by the "millions of pages" of anti-money
laundering and other regulations that Swiss banks are obliged to follow represents
9.8% of the total costs of a small bank, and 4.1% of the total costs for a larger
bank. Urs Roth, the secretary general of the Swiss Bankers Association attempted
to explain the stringency of the Swiss laws by citing the country's reputation
for perfectionism. "In France, the European directive against money laundering still has
not been incorporated into the (national) laws," AFP quoted him as observing. The Federal Banking Commission, meanwhile argued that the creation of new rules
is often requested by the banks themselves in order to increase the stability
of the sector's legal framework still further, and to protect them from lawsuits. "The notion of total comfort takes precedence over risk," FBC vice-president
Jean-Baptiste Zuffrey told delegates last week at a seminar in Lausanne. .
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