Presentation Note

This study purely highlights the information related to the policies of Swiss Bank. This research also revelas the fact that why recently Swiss Bank opened the account information for some people. The outline of the study is given below:

Introduction

Introduction to the Marcos and Holocaust Assets Litigation

Swiss Bank Secrecy and the Current Litigation

Bank Secrecy: Honor Thy Customer

Conclusion

Introduction

Today, the banking system has revolutionarized the economic sectors of the modern world. What do Hitler and Marcos have in common? Their bankers. Both leaders used numbered Swiss accounts in order to deposit ill-gotten gains. Why? Bank secrecy. In its basic form, bank secrecy refers to the obligation of a bank and its employees to keep information about their customers strictly confidential. Switzerland has been an attractive place to store money because it has historically offered customers confidentiality and security. By examining the Marcos and Holocaust assets litigation, this study explores the role of Swiss banks and their relationship to war criminals and leaders who commit egregious violations of human rights.

The term bank secrecy denotes different things to different people. (Schapiro, 12-19) For some, bank secrecy means the ability of banks to protect an individual's right to financial privacy. People even refer to bank secrecy and financial privacy as human rights or fundamental rights. Banks are seen as guardians, institutions that protect assets and prudently manage money.

In Switzerland, bank secrecy was established to protect individuals who were vulnerable to government intrusion. Article 47 of Swiss Federal Banking Law provides that bank employees shall be subject to criminal prosecution if they divulge confidential information about their customers. (Article 47(a) of Swiss Federal Barking Statute) Some commentators suggest that Swiss banks enacted Article 47 in the 1930s when they sought to make their banking industry more attractive to Jews and other targets of persecution by enacting comprehensive bank secrecy laws designed to shield the identities of their depositors and protect them from the Gestapo. (Krauskopf, 277) Prior to World War Two, European Jews became increasingly worried about their fate under the Third Reich. They brought their savings to Switzerland, traveling directly or using agents to store their valuables. These customers were attracted by promises of confidentiality offered by the Swiss. Article 47 thus was created both as a means of attracting wealth and as a way of safeguarding individuals in great need of protection.

Ironically, bank secrecy has proven to be a powerful tool whereby dictators (Bhattacharya, Gale, 69-88), despots, and war criminals can hide their loot with impunity. Among the notorious leaders who have stashed away money in bank secrecy jurisdictions are the Philippines' Ferdinand Marcos, Romania's Nicolai Ceausescu, Haiti's Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, and Zaire's Mobutu Sese Seku. Many of these leaders also have violated the human rights of their citizens. International public opinion displays discomfort with the thought of Swiss banks depositing and profiting from funds that are placed there by such notorious individuals. (Freixas, Parigi, and Rochet, 611-640) Perhaps even more egregious is the thought that war criminals have been able to ...