Banking & Fintech

Half of Switzerland prepared to sacrifice holy cow of banking secrecy

This content was published on Jun 25, 2000 The survey was conducted in the French-language Sunday newspaper, dimanche.ch. However it also showed four out of ten people wanted to keep banking secrecy, while 51 per cent said Switzerland’s success as a financial centre was due to banking secrecy as opposed to the competence of Swiss banks. Only nine per cent though considered it…

Opponents of globalisation use UN summit to air grievances

This content was published on Jun 25, 2000 After a series of workshops on Thursday and Friday, at least 700 delegates from all over the world – from landless Brazilian peasants to South Korean trade unionists – will hold a plenary session in the University Mail building on Saturday, followed by a march to the United Nations on Sunday. “The main purpose of…

Couchepin to raise social issues at OECD meeting

This content was published on Jun 25, 2000 Among the issues likely to be raised at the two-day meeting, starting on Monday, is tax evasion, and attempts by the European Union to combat money-laundering. The meeting is being held five days after an international report listed 15 countries for failing to deal sufficiently with money-laundering. Switzerland, which maintains tight banking secrecy regulations, was…

Trade Union demands state compensation for loss of military jobs

This content was published on Jun 23, 2000 The call was made in Berne by the Industry, Construction and Services Union (SMUV) after presentation of an independent study into the economic burden of national defence. One of the union’s leaders, Beda Moor, said that the main SMUV goal was not to absorb the shock of job losses in the military sector with redundancy…

Small breweries plead for bigger market share

This content was published on Jun 23, 2000 The group representing small and medium sized brewers says that Feldschlösschen has built up a quasi-monopoly in the beer market through an aggressive policy of acquisitions. Feldschlösschen controls close to 50 per cent of the sector. It wants the Competition Commission to order the separate sale of different brands such as Valaisanne and Cardinal. It’s…

Liechtenstein protests at blacklisting over money laundering

This content was published on Jun 23, 2000 The principality rejected criticisms that it was obstructing efforts to stamp out the crime. Liechtenstein’s prime minister, Mario Frick, said the government felt it had been “falsely judged”, by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). His comments come a day after the FATF criticised Liechtenstein, along with 14 other countries, for being uncooperative in international…

The week in Switzerland

This content was published on Jun 23, 2000 Switzerland’s banking secrecy came under the spotlight once again, after the European Union agreed to exchange information on non-residents’ savings accounts to prevent tax evasion. The EU deal is conditional on persuading third countries, including Switzerland, to adopt similar measures. The finance ministry in Berne indicated it might amend tax on investment income to bring…

Canton Vaud celebrates potatoes without borders

This content was published on Jun 23, 2000 “Potatoes are to Switzerland what rice is to China,” says Daniel Pitton, a local potato producer and self-confessed rösti fanatic. He and fellow potato growers in the Gros-de-Vaud region to the north of Lausanne have teamed up to promote their crop. The Röstiparc idea dates back to 1997, when regional producers organised an event called…

Liechtenstein blacklisted over money laundering

This content was published on Jun 22, 2000 The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) named 15 countries, which it said needed to implement international standards to combat money laundering. Switzerland was not among them. The FATF report shied away from openly criticising the nations on the blacklist, although the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has in the past accused many of…

Gruyère exhibition celebrates the cowbell

This content was published on Jun 22, 2000 More than 200 cowbells are on display, the earliest dating back to 1620, and some which were made by local craftsmen just a few weeks ago. Over the centuries, a device enabling farmers to find their cows at night, in fog and over long distances has developed into a folk tradition which today is as…

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