Swiss Banking Secrecy Under Siege

[due_indigence]

There is always the subtext, the story behind the story, and it's never on the front page. Senator Levin's going after the Swiss right now under the self-righteous Elliot Ness guise of 'tax evasion'. Yes the US govt is ravenous for tax receipts alright. That's true enough. But larger still I think, this seems to be a competitive struggle or turf war for banker supremacy.

The Anglo-Saxon-Zionist (NY-London) banking cartel are going after Swiss banking secrecy. And suddenly after 80 years. This seems to beg the question, why now? Part of ensuring the viability of our banking system involves knocking the legs out from under competitors, namely the Swiss. Switzerland is Iceland writ large. All they have is banking. No industrial base whatsoever. I believe Evans-Pritchard made this point recently. If Switzerland relents on secrecy, it's economy is dead --as is their franc. It may be a walking zombie already. This in turn affords the US dollar comparative strength and continued hegemony. The swiss franc will never be the paragon of safety it once was. I think that's obvious.

I've been troubled over the dollar-is-going-into-the-crapper argument for awhile now. It seems an unhinged and absolutist assertion without the follow-up of 'compared to what' (in the fiat complex at least). Yes, the US fiscal house is in shambles. Yes, perhaps the USD perhaps doesn't 'merit' its relative strength (who said economics must be fair?) Yes, the ants (producers) will suffer more than the grasshoppers (consumers) worldwide. The latest BIS report only underlines the continues demand for dollars.

I'd be interested in more astute readings of the tea-leaves on this current political theatre.

[Sapiens]

Re: Swiss Banking Secrecy Under Siege

I'd be interested in more astute readings of the tea-leaves on this current political theatre.

It is all about "The Custodian".

IT has killed central banking, don't worry, no one will tell the masses.

Authoritarian centralization will not survive the fractal monetary infrastructure coming down the technology pipe.

Want more:

Look for:

"Can Central Banking Survive the IT Revolution?"

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2004/wp0419.pdf

can't give you more due to privacy concerns. Enjoy.

[due_indigence]

Re: Swiss Banking Secrecy Under Siege

This looks like a fascinating read Sapiens. I have skimmed and will read further. I believe google is an extension of the Zionist Project, an attempt to re-centrailze the de-centralized. If I could give words to the authoritarian model it would be "we need to construct bigger arms to re-assert our arms around everything".

Of course 'if everything is in the database', then in an odd sense you are back to square one. Unless you have indexing algorithms that mimic the eye of God: e pluribus unum.

I have faith in the authoritarians. The naive playground that is today's Internet will not be allowed to stand.

[renewable]

Re: Swiss Banking Secrecy Under Siege

All they have is banking. No industrial base whatsoever. I believe Evans-Pritchard made this point recently.

Wouldn't believe everything Ambrose says. Heard of Nestle?

http://www.economist.com/countries/S...ic%20Structure

We had this discussion recently. The key question is whether all the CHF loans around will fall on the Swiss commercial banks.

http://www.economist.com/countries/S...conomic%20Data

The global financial crisis and the expected recession in 2009 are likely to dominate the political scene in the first half of the forecast period, with the Swiss authorities already making considerable interventions in the financial system. The economy is expected to be in a deep recession in 2009, and there is a risk of a more severe downturn than currently forecast. Switzerland's outsized financial sector, in relation to the size of the economy, exposes the country to great risk in the event of a systemic banking crisis.

Real GDP is forecast to contract strongly by 1.8% in 2009, as the economic downturn reaches its most severe period. Although growth is expected to return at 0.3% in 2010, the recovery is expected to be slow, and trend growth in the latter half of the forecast period is expected to be lower than in the growth years of 2004-07. The deceleration in the early part of the forecast period will be driven by a collapse of external demand and weakness in domestic demand, as the global financial crisis feeds through into the economy.

Inflation is expected to drop back from a peak of 2.4% on average in 2008 to deflation of 0.2% in 2009, returning to around 1.3% in 2010-13. The Swiss National Bank (the central bank) is expected to drop interest rates to 0.25% in 2009. The Swiss franc is likely to see periodic volatility during 2008-10. The current-account surplus is forecast to shrink considerably in 2008-10.

2009 data: http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/e.../blank/02.html

Electricity generation is 40% nuclear and 40% hydro. Cheap peak oil resistance should be as good as that of France

[renewable]

Re: Swiss Banking Secrecy Under Siege

Actually, this whole UBS banking secrecy thing reminds me of Ferdinand Lips' book, 'Gold Wars'

http://www.fame.org/goldwars.htm

[Down Under]

Re: Swiss Banking Secrecy Under Siege

The Anglo-Saxon-Zionist (NY-London) banking cartel are going after Swiss banking secrecy. And suddenly after 80 years. This seems to beg the question, why now? Part of ensuring the viability of our banking system involves knocking the legs out from under competitors, namely the Swiss. Switzerland is Iceland writ large. All they have is banking. No industrial base whatsoever. I believe Evans-Pritchard made this point recently. If Switzerland relents on secrecy, it's economy is dead --as is their franc. It may be a walking zombie already. This in turn affords the US dollar comparative strength and continued hegemony. The swiss franc will never be the paragon of safety it once was. I think that's obvious.

If I only had the choice between CHF and USD, I would choose CHF. I think hell will freeze over before Switzerland relents on secrecy.

[GRG55]

Re: Swiss Banking Secrecy Under Siege

If I only had the choice between CHF and USD, I would choose CHF. I think hell will freeze over before Switzerland relents on secrecy.

We'll see. In a globalized, highly-interlinked financial system, Switzerland has a lot less wiggle room than it did decades ago...

From the FT a few days ago...appears to show some cracks in the defence:

Swiss to meet US over bank secrecy defence

By Haig Simonian in Zurich
Published: March 2 2009 02:00 | Last updated: March 2 2009 02:00

...The Swiss justified the disclosure because the clients allegedly committed "tax fraud", as defined by Switzerland, and were thus not covered by bank secrecy.


But at the weekend two Swiss ministers acknowledged that the key differentiation in Swiss bank secrecy law between tax fraud, judged a crime, and tax evasion, a civil offence, might have to be revised.

Micheline Calmy-Rey, foreign minister, and Hans Rudolf Merz, finance minister and this year's head of state, recognised that non-co-operation with foreign authorities in tax evasion might need re-evaluation...