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S U B S C R I B E
WRS stories about banks
UK one step closer to hidden tax assets
Tuesday, 26 October, 2010
Switzerland and the United Kingdom have agreed to start negotiating a deal which would force wealthy British nationals with hidden Swiss bank accounts to pay tax at source—retroactive for up to 10 years—while still protecting their anonymity. The negotiations mirror a proposed deal between Germany and Switzerland and follow intense pressure on Swiss banks to stop “protecting” clients who have avoided paying any tax on their hidden assets for years. WRS’s Conor Lennon looks to UK correspondent Nina-Maria Potts for details and gets analysis from Thomas Cottier, director of the World Trade Institute at Bern University:
Tuesday, 26 October, 2010
Switzerland and the United Kingdom have agreed to start negotiating a deal which would force wealthy British nationals with hidden Swiss bank accounts to pay tax at source—retroactive for up to 10 years—while still protecting their anonymity. The negotiations mirror a proposed deal between Germany and Switzerland and follow intense pressure on Swiss banks to stop “protecting” clients who have avoided paying any tax on their hidden assets for years. WRS’s Conor Lennon looks to UK correspondent Nina-Maria Potts for details and gets analysis from Thomas Cottier, director of the World Trade Institute at Bern University:
Switzerland and UK to jointly tackle tax avoidance
Monday, 25 October, 2010
Switzerland and the UK have signed an agreement to tackle outstanding tax issues. One of those issues is the thorny matter of untaxed money, so-called “black money,” that British citizens have stashed in secret Swiss accounts. Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz and his British counterpart George Osborne have been at a signing ceremony at the Swiss embassy in central London. Susan Flory speaks to reporter Nina Potts who is there:
Monday, 25 October, 2010
Switzerland and the UK have signed an agreement to tackle outstanding tax issues. One of those issues is the thorny matter of untaxed money, so-called “black money,” that British citizens have stashed in secret Swiss accounts. Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz and his British counterpart George Osborne have been at a signing ceremony at the Swiss embassy in central London. Susan Flory speaks to reporter Nina Potts who is there:
Private banks could face more EU pressure on tax issues
Thursday, 21 October, 2010
The European Union could start pushing Switzerland as early as next year on several banking and tax issues, including savings accounts and information sharing. That’s according to Michel Dérobert, secretary general of the Swiss Private Bankers Association. WRS’s Alex Helmick talked to Dérobert at the annual press conference for Genève Place Financière, the umbrella group for Geneva’s financial institutions. He started by asking why the deals to track down tax cheats signed by the Swiss government haven’t hit most private banks:
Thursday, 21 October, 2010
The European Union could start pushing Switzerland as early as next year on several banking and tax issues, including savings accounts and information sharing. That’s according to Michel Dérobert, secretary general of the Swiss Private Bankers Association. WRS’s Alex Helmick talked to Dérobert at the annual press conference for Genève Place Financière, the umbrella group for Geneva’s financial institutions. He started by asking why the deals to track down tax cheats signed by the Swiss government haven’t hit most private banks:
Ethos plans to take part in class action suit against UBS
Tuesday, 19 October, 2010
The fight to make UBS pay for mistakes that led to billions of losses isn’t over. Ethos, a Swiss shareholder group, is planning to take part in an American class action suit. A pension fund in the U.S. town of Pontiac is suing the bank for millions, claiming UBS didn’t reveal its exposure to debt linked to subprime mortgages. Hans Jakob Heitz is a lawyer representing UBS’s small shareholders here in Switzerland:
Tuesday, 19 October, 2010
The fight to make UBS pay for mistakes that led to billions of losses isn’t over. Ethos, a Swiss shareholder group, is planning to take part in an American class action suit. A pension fund in the U.S. town of Pontiac is suing the bank for millions, claiming UBS didn’t reveal its exposure to debt linked to subprime mortgages. Hans Jakob Heitz is a lawyer representing UBS’s small shareholders here in Switzerland:
Pressure on UBS to stop funding mountaintop removal mining
Monday, 11 October, 2010
Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS, is being pressured to stop financing an environmentally destructive mining technique in the United States. It’s called mountaintop removal mining and it involves stripping land off the tops of mountains to get at the coal below. For mining companies, it’s cost-effective—but for big investors, it’s getting harder and harder to justify the environmental impacts. Lucas Chambers has a report, and we also hear from the Sierra Club’s Mark Kresowik and mining engineer, Andrew Forrest:
Monday, 11 October, 2010
Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS, is being pressured to stop financing an environmentally destructive mining technique in the United States. It’s called mountaintop removal mining and it involves stripping land off the tops of mountains to get at the coal below. For mining companies, it’s cost-effective—but for big investors, it’s getting harder and harder to justify the environmental impacts. Lucas Chambers has a report, and we also hear from the Sierra Club’s Mark Kresowik and mining engineer, Andrew Forrest:
British banking not for faint of heart
Friday, 8 October, 2010
If you want a quiet life, British banking probably isn’t the right career option right now. Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association, took up her job in 2007 on—April 1. Given everything that’s happened since, she thinks that may be significant. She was recently a guest of the British Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Geneva and Conor Lennon asked her who, in her view, is to blame for the near-collapse of the banking system in the UK:
Friday, 8 October, 2010
If you want a quiet life, British banking probably isn’t the right career option right now. Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association, took up her job in 2007 on—April 1. Given everything that’s happened since, she thinks that may be significant. She was recently a guest of the British Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Geneva and Conor Lennon asked her who, in her view, is to blame for the near-collapse of the banking system in the UK:
Swiss experts: Basel III banking rules not tough enough
Tuesday, 5 October, 2010
How to prevent the total collapse of the Swiss economy? A group of experts has published recommendations on the so-called “Too big to fail” problem, or how to regulate big banks like UBS and Credit Suisse. WRS’s Tony Ganzer reports:
Tuesday, 5 October, 2010
How to prevent the total collapse of the Swiss economy? A group of experts has published recommendations on the so-called “Too big to fail” problem, or how to regulate big banks like UBS and Credit Suisse. WRS’s Tony Ganzer reports:
Analyst calls for 'separation' of banks
Friday, 24 September, 2010
The Basel III accords—which came out of a meeting of global bankers in Basel earlier this month—were sold as an alignment of the world’s banks to avoid another global financial meltdown. Basel III decisions made world markets to surge and banks let out a sigh of relief. But for financial analyst Beat Kappeler, this was not a good sign, particularly for those of us with savings in a bank account:
Friday, 24 September, 2010
The Basel III accords—which came out of a meeting of global bankers in Basel earlier this month—were sold as an alignment of the world’s banks to avoid another global financial meltdown. Basel III decisions made world markets to surge and banks let out a sigh of relief. But for financial analyst Beat Kappeler, this was not a good sign, particularly for those of us with savings in a bank account:
Nobel winner on world economy: 'terrible'
Tuesday, 21 September, 2010
Joseph Stiglitz, holder of the Nobel Prize for Economics and former chief economist at the World Bank, says without strict financial regulation we risk another global economic meltdown. He is critical of recent measures such as the Basel III accords, saying they are too weak. Stiglitz has been speaking in Zürich, where WRS’s Tony Ganzer caught up with him:
Tuesday, 21 September, 2010
Joseph Stiglitz, holder of the Nobel Prize for Economics and former chief economist at the World Bank, says without strict financial regulation we risk another global economic meltdown. He is critical of recent measures such as the Basel III accords, saying they are too weak. Stiglitz has been speaking in Zürich, where WRS’s Tony Ganzer caught up with him:
Foreign Affairs: In jail with Bradley Birkenfield
Tuesday, 7 September, 2010
In a special edition, (Not So) Foreign Affairs goes to jail to talk to the man who blew the whistle on UBS’s illegal activities in America. Bradley Birkenfield changed the face of the Swiss banking system and transformed Switzerland’s perception, image and possibly even place in the world. Our Washington correspondent Daniel Ryntjes visits the whistleblower in jail.
Tuesday, 7 September, 2010
In a special edition, (Not So) Foreign Affairs goes to jail to talk to the man who blew the whistle on UBS’s illegal activities in America. Bradley Birkenfield changed the face of the Swiss banking system and transformed Switzerland’s perception, image and possibly even place in the world. Our Washington correspondent Daniel Ryntjes visits the whistleblower in jail.
Former bankers willing to blow whistle
Tuesday, 31 August, 2010
World Radio Switzerland can exclusively reveal that four former Swiss bankers are willing to blow the whistle on billions of dollars in offshore tax evasion by wealthy American clients. The bankers are being advised by the Washington-based Government Accountability Project, which is advising them to hold back from approaching the U.S. government for now. The group is citing the damage done to whistleblowing by the imprisonment of UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld. WRS’s Washington correspondent Daniel Ryntjes has this exclusive story.
Tuesday, 31 August, 2010
World Radio Switzerland can exclusively reveal that four former Swiss bankers are willing to blow the whistle on billions of dollars in offshore tax evasion by wealthy American clients. The bankers are being advised by the Washington-based Government Accountability Project, which is advising them to hold back from approaching the U.S. government for now. The group is citing the damage done to whistleblowing by the imprisonment of UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld. WRS’s Washington correspondent Daniel Ryntjes has this exclusive story.
Time's up for UBS names handover
Thursday, 26 August, 2010
A year after the historic settlement with the United States, today’s the last day for Switzerland to hand over the names of over 4,000 U.S. tax evaders to the IRS. The Federal Council agreed to breach Swiss banking secrecy in order to get UBS out of a massive civil suit in the United States. The crisis blew a hole in the Swiss tradition of financial secrecy, rocking both the government and the banks. But some worry the date will pass by without a full accounting of what happened at UBS. WRS’s Jordan Davis has been following the saga.
Thursday, 26 August, 2010
A year after the historic settlement with the United States, today’s the last day for Switzerland to hand over the names of over 4,000 U.S. tax evaders to the IRS. The Federal Council agreed to breach Swiss banking secrecy in order to get UBS out of a massive civil suit in the United States. The crisis blew a hole in the Swiss tradition of financial secrecy, rocking both the government and the banks. But some worry the date will pass by without a full accounting of what happened at UBS. WRS’s Jordan Davis has been following the saga.
Swanky new HQ for UBS as fortunes look up
Tuesday, 3 August, 2010
It’s been a tough few years for UBS. The Swiss bank lost billions during the credit crunch and was hit by a damaging tax evasion case in the United States. But the bank’s fortunes appear to be changing. Last week UBS posted better than expected second quarter profits. Now it’s signed a major property deal in the City of London for its new European headquarters. WRS’s Olly Barratt reports from London.
Tuesday, 3 August, 2010
It’s been a tough few years for UBS. The Swiss bank lost billions during the credit crunch and was hit by a damaging tax evasion case in the United States. But the bank’s fortunes appear to be changing. Last week UBS posted better than expected second quarter profits. Now it’s signed a major property deal in the City of London for its new European headquarters. WRS’s Olly Barratt reports from London.
UBS deal: Ceding sovereignty or necessary move?
Thursday, 3 June, 2010
Thursday, 3 June, 2010
The Council of States today is debating the controversial UBS accord signed between Switzerland and the United States last August. Switzerland agreed to hand over details of some 4,500 UBS clients suspected of tax evasion. In return, the U.S. agreed to lift the threat of legal action against the bank. Three of the country’s main parties have now rallied behind the deal, but the centre-left Social Democrats are still threatening to call a referendum on the issue.
To examine both sides of the issue WRS called on Martin Naville, president of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, who believes the UBS deal should be approved, and lawyer Michel Halpérin, a fierce opponent of the accord:
