Swiss abroad see red over bank account treatment

Swiss citizens who live abroad are finding it increasingly hard to open – or keep – bank accounts in Switzerland. While banks treat them as foreigners, the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) acts in their interests but receives hardly any support. “Just imagine – you’ve set up an account for a grandchild containing CHF1,000 ($995), but the fees burn it all up in less than two years. That can’t be right!” Roland Rino Büchel, a parliamentarian from the rightwing Swiss People’s Party and an OSA board member, is angry. The problem is that since the financial crisis of 2008 and the radical changes in the US banking system, regulation of the financial sector has seriously increased. In 2017, the automatic exchange of information (AIA) will be introduced. All this results in higher costs, which the banks pass onto their foreign clientele – including the Swiss abroad. The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad has conducted, for the second time, a survey of Swiss banks on ...