Swiss Government Seeks To Overturn German Decision On Banking Sector
The Swiss government is to intensify its lobbying efforts over a German law
set to come into force later this year, which would force banks based outside
the EU and the European Economic Area to register with the German authorities
before they are allowed to promote their services in the country. Although Germany's Finance Minister, Barbara Hendricks has argued that the
legislation is merely intended "to protect German consumers from dubious
operators who are not accountable to German banking regulations", Swiss
banks feel that the government is simply trying to dissuade its citizens from
banking offshore. Speaking to the Swissinfo news service this week, spokesman for the Swiss Bankers
Association, James Nason explained that: "Germany is an important source of new customers for the Swiss financial
services industry." He continued: "The Swiss don't really see why they're being thrown into the same pot
as some of the less well-regulated financial centres. It does have a slight
whiff of protectionism about it." According to Swissinfo, the issue is likely to be discussed by Swiss President
Joseph Deiss and German leader Gerhard Schroder at a meeting next month. A comprehensive report on the offshore banking sector, including details of the regulatory regime in a number of top jurisdictions, is available in the Tax News Reports Shop at http://www.tax-news.com/reportshop
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