Switzerland Set to Extend Sharing of Banking Information 

(Bloomberg) — Switzerland has increased the number of countries with which it is sharing information on financial assets, as part of the country’s international obligations to combat tax evasion. 

Swiss authorities this year added Kazakhstan, the Maldives and Oman to the list of more than 100 states for the automatic exchange of banking information, the Federal Tax Administration said on Monday. The total of accounts covered has also risen this year to 3.6 million, up from 3.4 million in 2022. The Swiss now pass data to more than half the countries in the world.

No information was shared with Russia, the authority said. Switzerland had ceased exchanges last year after the invasion of Ukraine and the adoption of European Union sanctions against the country.

Read the full list of countries Switzerland shares financial data with here.

The Swiss have weakened the practice of strict banking secrecy in recent years, including by joining the OECD accord on the exchange of banking information in 2014. Since subsequent legislation was passed three years later, the number of countries Switzerland shares data with has been on the rise.  

Around 9000 banks, insurers, trusts and other financial institutions in Switzerland provide information, which the Federal Tax Administration shares on an automated basis with other states, it said. Data collected includes name and residence of the account holder, as well as balance and capital income.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.