Offshore private banking model is dead: Experts
1 Sep 2009, 2146 hrs REUTERS
ZURICH: A US tax probe against Swiss bank UBS has killed traditional offshore banking and wealth managers will have to improve their offers to
survive, bankers and industry experts said on Tuesday.
Offshore private banking involves managing the wealth of rich clients from a foreign location.
However, some clients have exploited the system to avoid paying taxes, especially if carried out in traditional banking secrecy strongholds like Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
The situation has been thrust into the limelight since Washington accused UBS of using Swiss bank secrecy laws to help wealthy clients avoid paying taxes and forced it last month to hand over some treasured client data.
UBS's capitulation to the U.S. tax authorities and a global crackdown on tax evasion are denting the allure for banks to shelter untaxed money, experts say.
"The entire offshore banking model seems to be dead," said Teodoro Cocca, a professor for Wealth and Asset Management at the Johannes Kepler University in Austria.
"Forget bank secrecy and focus on onshore or on tax compliant business," he told an audience of Swiss private bankers.
Experts say there has been almost no growth in the offshore private banking business in recent years, even though some small players are still attracting tax-sensitive money. The returns offered are just becoming too risky, Cocca said.
Top bankers say private banks in Switzerland, the world's largest offshore center with an estimated $2 trillion in managed wealth, should learn from UBS's troubles and compete more with other banks on their home turfs.
"The consequences of the crisis at UBS have been dramatic," said Pierre de Weck, Head of Private Wealth Management at Deutsche Bank.
"I have been for years an advocate that Switzerland should build from a position of strength and attract capital not because of confidentiality," he said. "Our big offshore center has to learn the onshore skills to survive."
1 Sep 2009, 2146 hrs REUTERS
ZURICH: A US tax probe against Swiss bank UBS has killed traditional offshore banking and wealth managers will have to improve their offers to
survive, bankers and industry experts said on Tuesday.
Offshore private banking involves managing the wealth of rich clients from a foreign location.
However, some clients have exploited the system to avoid paying taxes, especially if carried out in traditional banking secrecy strongholds like Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
The situation has been thrust into the limelight since Washington accused UBS of using Swiss bank secrecy laws to help wealthy clients avoid paying taxes and forced it last month to hand over some treasured client data.
UBS's capitulation to the U.S. tax authorities and a global crackdown on tax evasion are denting the allure for banks to shelter untaxed money, experts say.
"The entire offshore banking model seems to be dead," said Teodoro Cocca, a professor for Wealth and Asset Management at the Johannes Kepler University in Austria.
"Forget bank secrecy and focus on onshore or on tax compliant business," he told an audience of Swiss private bankers.
Experts say there has been almost no growth in the offshore private banking business in recent years, even though some small players are still attracting tax-sensitive money. The returns offered are just becoming too risky, Cocca said.
Top bankers say private banks in Switzerland, the world's largest offshore center with an estimated $2 trillion in managed wealth, should learn from UBS's troubles and compete more with other banks on their home turfs.
"The consequences of the crisis at UBS have been dramatic," said Pierre de Weck, Head of Private Wealth Management at Deutsche Bank.
"I have been for years an advocate that Switzerland should build from a position of strength and attract capital not because of confidentiality," he said. "Our big offshore center has to learn the onshore skills to survive."
