Swiss Bankgeheimnis
Swiss bank secrecy in 2026.
What changed. What remains.
Swiss banking secrecy (Bankgeheimnis) is codified under BankG Art. 47 — a criminal obligation in force since 1934. It protects client information from disclosure to private third parties, civil creditors, employers, and competitors. What it no longer covers: since 2017, Switzerland automatically reports account data to over 100 countries under the OECD Common Reporting Standard (AEOI/CRS). Swiss secrecy is not dead — it has been requalified.
Art. 47
BankG criminal secrecy
100+
AEOI partner countries
Since 1934
In statutory law
FATCA
US person reporting
Swiss Bank Secrecy (Bankgeheimnis)
BankG Art. 47 — the law, the limits,
and the 2026 reality
Swiss bank secrecy — legal framework
Swiss banking secrecy (Bankgeheimnis) is codified in Article 47 of the Federal Banking Act (BankG). It is a criminal-law obligation — bank employees, officers, liquidators, auditors, and auxiliaries who disclose client information without a lawful legal basis face a custodial sentence of up to 3 years or a fine. Not merely a contractual term: a statutory criminal obligation.
Switzerland codified the banking secrecy obligation at the federal level in the 1934 Banking Act. Its origins trace to Genevan banking practice of 1713, when the Geneva Great Council prohibited bankers from disclosing client information to French creditors. The 1934 law was partly a response to Nazi-era disclosure demands.
The obligation binds anyone who works for or advises a Swiss bank in a professional capacity — including bank employees, board members, liquidators, and FINMA-appointed auditors. It does not bind the client: the account holder may disclose their own account information freely.
Switzerland's Federal Act on the International Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOIA/AIAG) entered into force on 1 January 2017. It provides the legal basis for automatic annual reporting of Swiss account data to the tax authorities of 101 CRS partner jurisdictions, displacing the BankG Art. 47 protection for those reporting flows. Approximately 3.4 million Swiss accounts are reported outbound annually.
Under the US-Switzerland FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement (Model 2 IGA), Swiss financial institutions report US-person account data directly to the IRS. BankG Art. 47 does not shield US citizens, Green Card holders, or US tax residents from IRS reporting on their Swiss accounts. Most Swiss retail banks have declined new US-person account applications as a result.
BankG Art. 47 remains fully operative against private third parties: employers, creditors without a court judgment, competitors, journalists, and family members cannot obtain Swiss account information without a formal Swiss court order. This domestic confidentiality protection is intact and legally enforceable in 2026.
A numbered account replaces the client's name with an alphanumeric code on bank statements and routine documents. It does NOT create anonymity: the bank fully identifies the account holder under GwG Art. 3 (AMLA). AEOI/CRS reporting applies to numbered accounts without exception. Availability is declining — many Swiss banks no longer offer the product to new clients.
GwG (AMLA) Art. 3 has required mandatory identity verification of all contracting parties since 1998. GwG Art. 4 mandates beneficial owner identification. CDB 20 Form A requires every account holder to declare the economic beneficiary. No FINMA-licensed Swiss bank may open or maintain a genuinely anonymous account. Any service claiming to offer one is operating outside the Swiss licensed banking system.
Protection from private third parties (fully intact)
A Swiss employer cannot enquire about an employee's balance. A creditor without a Swiss court judgment cannot compel disclosure. A competitor, journalist, or family member cannot obtain account data informally. This is meaningful, day-to-day confidentiality that Swiss banking uniquely provides — and it has not been eroded by AEOI.
Swiss residents taxed solely in Switzerland
For clients who are tax-resident in Switzerland with no foreign tax reporting obligations, the AEOI channel does not apply. Their account data is not transmitted to any foreign tax authority. BankG Art. 47 domestic protection applies in full — a near-complete version of the historical Swiss bank secrecy.
Civil dispute protection (procedural barrier)
Civil creditors in foreign jurisdictions cannot simply ask a Swiss bank to disclose assets. The formal process — either a Swiss court order from domestic proceedings or an MLAT request for international criminal matters — creates a substantial procedural barrier that protects clients from unwarranted intrusion.
Internal compartmentalisation (numbered accounts)
Where still available, numbered accounts provide protection from low-level bank staff exposure. Bank communications are not mailed to the client's home address. Statements do not display the client's name on routine transaction documents. This internal confidentiality is a legitimate, lawful privacy tool for HNW individuals — distinct from tax opacity, which no longer applies.
The 2026 reality: what changed and what remains
Swiss bank secrecy was not eliminated — it was requalified. The BankG Art. 47 criminal obligation protecting client information from disclosure to private third parties remains fully in force. What was substantially curtailed is the tax-opacity function: since 2017, Switzerland automatically reports financial account data for non-residents to their home-country tax authorities under the OECD CRS (AEOI). For 101 partner jurisdictions, this means Swiss banking is no longer a means of concealing taxable income from your home government. For Swiss residents with no foreign tax obligations — and for anyone seeking legitimate protection from private third parties, civil creditors, and commercial competitors — Swiss bank secrecy in its meaningful day-to-day form remains intact.
Key Data
Swiss Bank Secrecy — Current Status
What remains and what has changed since 1934
1934
Banking Act enacted
Art. 47 Swiss Banking Act — criminal penalty for unlawful disclosure of client data.
2017
CRS participation started
Switzerland began automatic exchange of financial account data under OECD CRS.
Intact
Domestic bank secrecy
Swiss banks cannot disclose client data to domestic third parties without legal basis.
FATCA
US reporting framework
Switzerland signed IGA with the US — US persons' accounts reported to IRS.
What Secrecy Does Not Cover
Swiss bank secrecy does not protect against
tax reporting, criminal investigations, or FATCA
AEOI/CRS partner jurisdictions (101+)
If you are tax-resident in a CRS signatory country, your Swiss bank reports your account balance, interest, dividends, and asset sale proceeds to your home country's tax authority annually — automatically, without a court order, and without your consent.
US persons (FATCA / IRS)
US citizens and Green Card holders' Swiss account data is reported directly to the IRS under the US-Switzerland FATCA IGA. No Art. 47 protection applies to these reporting flows.
Criminal investigations (MLAT)
Foreign law enforcement authorities can request Swiss account information via MLAT if the conduct under investigation constitutes a crime under both Swiss law and the requesting country's law (dual criminality). Tax fraud — falsification of documents — typically qualifies. Mere tax evasion has historically not met the threshold.
Domestic criminal investigations
Swiss prosecutors can compel bank disclosure through a Swiss court order in connection with domestic criminal proceedings. Art. 47 has never been an absolute shield against criminal investigation.
Tax evasion (post-2016 reform)
Since 2016, domestic Swiss tax evasion at a criminal scale (tax fraud, Steuerbetrug) may qualify as a predicate offence under Swiss criminal law, potentially triggering Swiss domestic criminal investigation channels.
Key Milestones
How Swiss banking secrecy evolved
from 1713 to 2026
Year
Event
Detail
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