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Banker warns of tough times ahead

Geneva's banks have so far largely escaped the fallout of the financial crisis, but the future could be tough, a top banker warned on Tuesday.

Geneva is likely to see a drop of one third in tax revenue from the financial business located there in 2009-10, Ivan Pictet, president of the Geneva Financial Center foundation, told journalists.

He described the current world financial crisis as “very serious”, but said Switzerland was better placed than many countries since it did not have a housing bubble.

Since Geneva concentrates on asset management, it has not been much affected directly, he explained. But he warned that recession was coming.

“We will not be able to escape the world economic situation, and we must expect two or three difficult years,” he said.

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