Tax treaty may end banking secrecy

Zurich: Switzerland’s tax treaty with Germany may finish banking secrecy in Europe and prompt withdrawals as Swiss banks will no longer guarantee client confidentiality.

The treaty will allow investigators to request Swiss assistance in tracking down undeclared money deposited by German nationals, said Eric Jucker, a Zurich-based tax lawyer. It probably will be signed this month by Swiss Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz and his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble.

Germans are the biggest clients of Swiss money managers with assets of about 260 billion francs (€194 billion).