Swiss Banking News: May 2010

27.05.2010: Switzerland's parliament voted to continue discussions towards a settlement with US authorities that would provide for passing to US authorities the information on 4,450 US deposit holders in Swiss banks. Swiss political parties have reversed their opposition to the agreement with US authorities, which contravenes Swiss confidentiality laws, indicating that the bill allowing the transfer of the data will be passed when it is subject to a vote in June.
According to the experts, the attractiveness of Switzerland as a private banking hub would not be significantly influenced by this move, if the parliament adopts the bill, noting that Switzerland, as a financial centre, will attract depositors even after the proposed relaxation of Swiss banking secrecy laws.