RTS – Banking secrecy, goodbye! Thomas Borer
In the RTS documentary Secret bancaire, adieu ! (Goodbye banking secrecy!), Thomas Borer (32:11) looks back on the dark days of the Swiss banking system. He recalls: “We are a country that often repeats its mistakes and fails to learn from them. ‘ In the 1990s, he was considered the ’savior” of the banks during the crisis over unclaimed Jewish assets. In the 2000s, just when the crisis seemed to be over, a new attack on Switzerland was brewing, this time from the United States. To defend the financial centre, it was necessary to build good relations with Washington and appear on American TV to clearly communicate Switzerland’s position. But faced with pressure from the US and Europe, banks and the government wavered. The documentary highlights that Switzerland, clinging to banking secrecy that had ensured its prosperity, ultimately saw its system collapse, betraying thousands of foreign clients and also compromising the lives of many innocent bank employees. Today, banking secrecy is moribund and Switzerland’s honour is irreparably damaged.