Swiss bankers take charm offensive to US

Urs Roth, head of the Swiss Bankers Association, was among the heavyweights leading the delegation Keystone Archive

A Swiss delegation of bankers and regulators is holding talks with more than 100 Wall Street executives in New York, as part of a lobbying effort to convince American politicians and business that Switzerland is serious about combating financial crime.

The Swiss delegation started its lobbying effort on Wednesday in Washington, where it hosted a luncheon presentation for Congressional aides, policymakers of the Bush Administration and regulators.

The luncheon was billed as an informal seminar and featured presentations by, among others, the Director of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission, Daniel Zuberbuhler, the Managing Director of UBS, Hans-Peter Bauer, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Swiss Bankers Association, Urs Roth.

Wednesday’s event followed a similar meeting with European Union officials last December but was the first direct and high-profile lobbying effort by the Swiss banking industry in Washington in six years.

At a press briefing after the seminar, Jacques Rossier, Managing Partner with Darier Hentsch and Co., defended banking secrecy in Switzerland, although he admitted it was “not an absolute right”.

He added that “Switzerland has among the most stringent laws on money laundering, and enforcement is swifter in Switzerland than in other countries”.

He was supported by the Federal Banking Commission’s Daniel Zuberbuhler, who indicated that Swiss regulators investigate 70 per cent of reports about suspicious transactions.

For their part, some of the Americans were sceptical about the effectiveness of Switzerland’s money laundering legislation. A House of Representative staffer, who did not want to be identified, told swissinfo that the Swiss delegates were “not very convincing” on the issue of enforcement of money laundering legislation.

“There was a tone of defensiveness in their presentation that put you on guard immediately and they gave no hard evidence that laws are being enforced,” said the Congressional aide, who works on banking issues.

“The big loophole is tax evasion which is not recognised as a crime in [Swiss] law on money laundering”, he explained.

The luncheon had been in the works for a long time. Yet it happened on the very day when Democrats regained control of the Senate.

Asked by swissinfo about the potential impact of that power shift on Swiss banks, Urs Roth predicted that “we may see more consumer protection initiatives, but I do not expect the power shift to affect Swiss companies operating in the United States”.

The luncheon in Congress was paid for by the Swiss government. Ambassador Alfred Defago noted that “it would have been more difficult to hold such an event on Capitol Hill without involvement from the Embassy”.

Defago also stressed that other governments regularly support events that are designed to promote their national interests and those of their industry to the American political circles.

by Marie-Christine Bonzom in Washington.