Can I open a Swiss bank account right here?

Not directly. Switzerbank.com is not a bank. However, the bankers and asset managers (including client advisors, private banking advisors and asset managers) presented in our Internet portal can assist you with opening an account with a Swiss bank. All of the above are experts from supervised Swiss financial institutions.

How to proceed:
1) Click on the menu item «Find bankers».
2) Scroll through the selection of portraits displayed and select an investment advisor of your choice – ideally one employed with a bank. Click on the left of the four symbols to the right of the photo of the person you selected.
3) Now click on «Contact» in the investment advisor’s portrait window which is now displayed.
4) You can contact the investment advisor by telephone, e-mail or fax. He can provide you with further assistance in opening an account. Inform him that you found his details at Switzerbank.com.

Who can open a Swiss bank account?

In principle, any adult person can open an account at a bank in Switzerland. However, banks reserve the right to reject customers. For example, a bank might refuse to offer banking services to a so-called «politically-exposed person» who the bank believes would pose too great a reputational risk if he or she were to become a client. A bank might also refuse to start a banking relationship if it has doubts about the origins of the potential client's funds because Swiss banks are forbidden by law to accept money which they know or must assume stem from crime.

Source: www.swissbanking.org

Can a company open an account?

A company may open a Swiss bank account irrespective of whether its registered office is in Switzerland or abroad. If the company's registered office is in Switzerland then the company is identified with the relevant extract from the Swiss Commercial Register which the bank may download from the relevant website. The identity of legal entities not listed in the Swiss Commercial Register is verified on the basis of their charters or equivalent documents. The same principles basically apply to companies with their registered office abroad. However, if the registered office is in a country that does not operate an official commercial register then the company must prove it exists by showing equivalent relevant credentials. Extracts from commercial registers or equivalent documents must not be older than 12 months. A document dated older than 12 months may be used in conjunction with an audit report or a «certificate of good standing» dated not older than 12 months.
Special rules apply to domiciliary companies. Under Swiss law «domiciliary companies» are entities that do not conduct any commercial or manufacturing business or any other form of commercial operation in the country where their registered office is located. Besides producing the identification documents mentioned above they must also declare the identity of the beneficial owners of their assets.

Source: www.swissbanking.org

How can I open an account from my home country?

First of all it must be understood that Swiss banks have very strict procedures concerning the opening of accounts, irrespective of the domicile of the customer. In line with Swiss laws governing «due diligence», the bank must verify the identity of the customer on the basis of an official document (e.g. a passport). If the Swiss bank you are interested in has a subsidiary, branch or representative office in your country you may consider contacting this office. If the bank is not represented in your country, please get in touch directly with the bank in Switzerland which will then provide you with further information.

Source: www.swissbanking.org

Can I open a Swiss bank account entirely via the Internet?

No, because technical and legal reasons prevent the customer identification procedure from being carried out entirely online via the Internet. At the present time banks in Switzerland must follow the identification procedures laid down for opening an account by correspondence. In accordance with the Due Diligence Agreement (CDB 03), the bank verifies the identity of the contracting partner by obtaining a certified copy of an official identification document (passport, identity card, etc.). The certified copy may be provided by a branch, representative office or group company of the bank; by a correspondent bank; by a financial intermediary specifically appointed by the bank; or by a notary public or public office that customarily issues such authentications. The bank also checks the address of the new customer through an exchange of correspondence.

Source: www.swissbanking.org

What questions will the bank ask me?

First of all, the bank's staff will certainly ask questions to fulfil the bank's legal obligations with regard to due diligence. This will include asking for proof of your identity and also establishing the identity of the beneficial owner of the assets if you are depositing funds on behalf of someone else. The bank's staff might also ask about the origin of the funds, the nature of your professional business, your general financial situation and your usual financial transactions.

Source: www.swissbanking.org

What documentation will the bank want to see?

As mentioned above, Swiss banks are obliged to verify the identity of a client. For this reason a bank would very much prefer to meet you face-to-face for an initial discussion. The bank will certainly want to see official identification papers such as a valid passport or an equivalent official identification document containing a photograph. The bank may also ask for documentation that can prove the origin of your funds, such as the contract for a house sale, a statement from a foreign bank, a receipt from the sale of securities, etc.

Source: www.swissbanking.org

Can I open an anonymous account?

No. There is no such thing as an «anonymous» account in Switzerland. Under Swiss law, the bank must know who you are. Anonymous accounts at Swiss banks exist only in the imagination of thriller writers.

Source: www.swissbanking.org

Can I open a numbered account?

The procedure for opening a numbered account is exactly the same as for any other type of account. The bank must verify your identity and establish the identity of the beneficial owner. Numbered accounts are certainly not anonymous. With a numbered account your business within the bank is carried out not under your name but under a number or code. This is simply an internal security measure to restrict knowledge of the customer's identity to a small group of employees in the bank and apart from this a numbered account enjoys no additional privileges in terms of confidentiality. Numbered accounts should not be used for international wire transfers. According to international regulations the client's name, address and account number must be given when making international wire transfers.

Source: www.swissbanking.org

Is there a minimum opening deposit?

Most Swiss high-street banks do not require a minimum deposit for an ordinary current or savings account. However, some of the private bankers and other banks offering private banking and wealth management services do require a minimum deposit.

Source: www.swissbanking.org

Does the account have to be in Swiss francs?

No. Many banks offer accounts in US dollars, euros and other currencies besides the Swiss franc.

Source: www.swissbanking.org

How safe are Swiss banks?

All banks operating in Switzerland must be licensed by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC). The SFBC, which is a member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, regulates and supervises all banks in Switzerland according to the Basel Committee's standards. These standards cover not only equity and capital adequacy but also the entire scope of prudential and behavioural rules. As an additional safety measure, Swiss law demands capital adequacy standards even higher than those required by the Basel Accord. Swiss banks can therefore certainly be counted amongst the safest in the world.

Source: www.swissbanking.org

How «secret» are Swiss banks?

In Switzerland great importance has traditionally been attached to the protection of an individual's privacy, and this has always included financial privacy. Surveys consistently show that the vast majority of the Swiss people want to maintain this protection. However, the high level of confidentiality Swiss banks offer both their domestic and foreign customers is not absolute and certainly does not shield criminals. As a matter of principle the rights to privacy can be suspended when a criminal investigation is underway. Our aim is to protect the privacy of the honest bank client while exposing criminals to the full force of the law.

Source: www.swissbanking.org