Tag Archives: Switzerland

Swiss court rules handing over bank employee info to US illegal

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“A Swiss court has ruled that Credit Suisse’s decision to provide US tax authorities with information on an employee was illegal, according to the ruling made public Monday.  In April 2012, the Swiss government gave 11 Swiss banks the go-ahead to accommodate a US tax evasion probe and hand over the names of thousands of their employees and consultants working with American clients.  Fearful of harsh US penalties and prosecution, the banks then met Washington’s demands, handing over personal information about numerous staff members, and reportedly also making personal documents, emails and details of telephone calls available.”

http://news.yahoo.com/swiss-court-rules-handing-over-bank-employee-us-192213815.html

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Swiss Bank Refuses Request for Cash Withdrawal, Backed By Central Bank

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“A Swiss pension fund manager calculated that he could save his clients a substantial amount of money by withdrawing cash from his fund’s bank account, which was yielding a negative interest return, and depositing the cash in an insured vault.  Exercising his fiduciary responsibility, he notified his bank of an impending large withdrawal of CHF.  The bank rebuffed the fund manager’s request:  ‘We are sorry, that within the time period specified, no solution corresponding to your expectations could be found.’  One banking expert argues that the bank’s action ‘is most definitely not legal’ because the pension fund holds a ‘sight account,’  which gives the holder the right to withdraw cash on demand.”

https://mises.org/blog/swiss-bank-refuses-request-cash-withdrawal

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Creator of PGP explains why he moved his company to Switzerland

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“When Philip Zimmermann was campaigning for nuclear disarmament in the 1980s, he kept an escape plan in his back pocket. The inventor of the world’s most widely used email encryption system, Pretty Good Privacy – more commonly known as PGP – was ready to move his family from Colorado to New Zealand at a moment’s notice.  The button was never pressed and the Zimmermanns stayed put. Until this year, that is. At 61, the Internet Hall of Fame inductee and founder of three-year-old mobile encryption startup Silent Circle has just left the US for Switzerland. In the end, it was not the nuclear threat that convinced him to leave his homeland, but the surveillance arms race.”

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/25/philip-zimmermann-king-encryption-reveals-fears-privacy

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Croatian Swiss franc debtors demand central bank governor resign

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“Thousands of Croatians holding loans denominated in Swiss francs took to the streets of Zagreb on Saturday, demanding local banks to restructure the debts and the central bank governor to step down for failing to take action. Some 60,000 Croatians hold around 27 billion kuna (£2.5 billion) worth of Swiss franc-denominated loans, mainly taken out during the 2000s when many in central and eastern Europe were attracted to low interest rates on the Swiss currency. The franc surged in January when the Swiss central bank scrapped its peg to the euro, driving the loans’ costs sharply higher. The Croatian government fixed the franc rate against the kuna at 6.39 for one year to put a cap on the mounting debts.”

https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/27350119/swiss-franc-debtors-march-in-croatia-demand-cen-bank-governor-to-resign/

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Corporate bond rates go negative

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“In an unprecedented event, the yield on Nestle’s corporate debt went negative this week.  That means investors are essentially willing to pay for the right to park their cash in the safety of the Swiss chocolate company. The bonds might as well come with a note saying: ‘In Nestle we trust.’ All of this is a sign of the unusual times we all live in thanks to never-seen-before central bank policy. After all, normally bond investors are paid to provide financing, not the other way around. So what’s sparking this latest fad in finance? Central bankers around the world are experimenting with new recipes aimed at jump starting sluggish economies.”

http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/05/investing/nestle-corporate-bonds-negative-rates/

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Negative Yields on Eurozone Sovereign Bonds Becoming New Normal

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“On Wednesday, Finland became the first nation in the region to pay a negative yield on five-year debt sold at auction, suggesting that investors are unperturbed by the country’s weak economic expansion and its dependence on troubled Eastern Europe.  German government bonds offer negative yields on maturities up to six years, according to Tradeweb, as do bonds issued by Denmark. Five-year government debt carries a negative yield in the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Finland, and four-year government debt in France and Belgium.  In Switzerland, bonds with a maturity of up to a staggering 13 years offer less than zero in terms of yield.”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/finland-pays-negative-yield-on-five-year-debt-1423057657

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Saxo Bank faces £70m losses after Swiss currency turmoil

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“Just over a week ago, the Swiss National Bank shocked markets by announcing that, with immediate effect, it would no longer fix its currency – the franc – against the euro.  That led to a surge in the value of the franc against the euro, at one point by 30%.  It also caught some currency brokers by surprise – many of whose customers could not afford to settle their accounts.  The broker Alpari UK, which sponsors West Ham United football club, collapsed into administration as a result, while IG Index said its potential losses were £30m.  Now the Danish-controlled Saxo bank said that its losses could reach about £70m.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30960558

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Swiss Gold Referendum: What It Really Means

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“In a few days the Swiss people will go to the polls to decide whether the Swiss central bank is to be required to hold 20% of its reserves in the form of gold. Polls show that the gold requirement is favored by the less well off and opposed by wealthy Swiss invested in stocks.  These poll results provide new insight into the real reason for Quantitative Easing by the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.  The view in Switzerland is that a gold backed Swiss franc would be more valuable, and a more valuable franc would increase the purchasing power of wage earners, thus reducing their living costs.  The vote is clearly a vote about income shares between the rich and the poor.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/editorials/35855/Paul-Craig-Roberts-Swiss-Gold-Referendum-What-It-Really-Means/

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Swiss Gold Initiative Likely Tighter Than Polls Suggest

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“Even if the Swiss gold initiative fails and its proponents don’t achieve their desired outcome, the initiative will still be seen in some quarters as an historic event that panicked the Swiss National Bank into a coordinated campaign of opposition and that made currency strategists and financial media around the world sit up and begin to analyse what they may now realise has always been a world class currency in its own right.  No matter what you think of Alan Greenspan, he knows that gold is the world’s premier currency, as do the governing board of the SNB. But whereas Greenspan is now free to say this, the SNB board look too afraid to admit this.”

https://www.goldcore.com/goldcore_blog/Swiss_Gold_Poll_Likely_Tighter_Than_Polls_Suggest

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Swiss sanctions dilemma over Russia

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“Moscow’s response to EU sanctions – a ban on fresh food imports from the EU – does not apply to Switzerland.  For Swiss cheese maker Anthony Margot, that has led to ‘dozens’ of calls a day from Russian cheese distributors, hoping to fill the huge gap which will be left by French camembert, Dutch edam or Italian mozzarella.  ‘Some of them are calling in tears,’ he says. ‘The situation is terrible for them, they fear they will lose their jobs, everyone wants to buy Swiss cheese now.’  Unfortunately for the Russians, Swiss cheese makers are unlikely to be able to meet the demand as most of them are small, village-based businesses.”

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28833360

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