NEW DELHI: Indians have “few deposits” in Swiss banks compared with other global financial hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong, says a grouping of private bankers in Switzerland amid stepped-up efforts to check black money. Money held by Indians in Swiss banks declined to a record low of 1.2 billion franc (about Rs 8,392 crore) at the end of 2015, as per the latest available official data. Committing itself to the global framework for automatic exchange of tax information, Switzerland last week ratified the decision to implement this regime with India and 40 other regions. The framework for automatic exchange of information requires strict adherence to data confidentiality, but the Geneva-based Association of Swiss Private Banks said it has no particular concern over India, where the rule of law seems to be properly upheld. “There are also rather few deposits of Indian residents in Switzerland, as opposed to Singapore or Hong Kong for instance,” the association’s manager, Jan Langlo, said. When asked about trends in terms of deposits from Indian residents, Langlo said that it has not noticed any particular trend. “It is simply more practical for them to open an account in an Asian financial centre than in Switzerland,” Langlo noted.
