Swiss Finance - Financial / Capital Market

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Swiss Finance

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A timely guide to the complex financial markets and banking secrecy of Switzerland

Since 1934, when Switzerland's federal bank secrecy law was passed, the line between myth and reality with regard to Swiss banking has been blurred. But over the past decade, there have been dramatic changes in the pressures brought to bear on all facets of the Swiss financial markets and banking sector. Recent developments and agreements have potentially weakened Swiss banking secrecy, and with that said, it is time for a book that lays out the history of Swiss bank secrecy and puts these twenty-first century changes in perspective.

Swiss Finance is a thorough overview of the Swiss financial markets and the banking secrecy this country has become known for. It covers key topics to practitioners both abroad and in the United States involved in Swiss banking and the Swiss financial markets.
- Discusses what the Euro-debt crisis may mean for the role of Switzerland as a financial powerhouse
- Reveals how new secrecy agreements with the United States and Germany will impact private wealth management
- Addresses Asian competition for wealth management and tax havens
Switzerland is one of the largest financial markets in the world and a global power in private wealth administration. Whether you're a private wealth advisor, Swiss or U.S. banker, or other finance practitioner involved in the Swiss market, this guide is essential reading if you intend on achieving future success in this arena.
Preface ix

Introduction 1

1 Finanzplatz Schweiz 7

2 The Swiss Banking System 37

3 Swiss Banking Secrecy 97

4 Swiss Institutional Investors 151

5 Swiss National Bank and Monetary Policy 181

6 Swiss Francs in the Global Exchange Markets 209

7 Swiss Debt Markets 243

8 Swiss Equity Markets 275

9 Swiss DerivativeMarkets 311

10 Swiss Taxes on Investment and Financing 349

Conclusion and Outlook 365

About the Authors 373

Index 377
Dr. Henri B. Meier is a cofounder of HBM BioVentures AG, HBM Partners AG, BioMedInvest AG, and BioMedCredit AG, which are among the global leaders in biotech venture capital firms. For the past twelve years, since his retirement from Roche Holdings, he has been active in helping and advising young entrepreneurs start new companies and foundations. Over the course of his distinguished career, he has held positions as an economist and financial analyst, as well as investment officer, at both International Finance Corporation and the World Bank in Washington, D.C.; a member of the Executive Committee of Handelsbank National Westminster (Zurich); and CFO, member of the Roche Group Executive Committee, and member of Roche's Board of Directors. Among Meier's many awards during this period were multiple recognitions as Switzerland's top CFO and recipient of the European CFO Excellence Award in 1999. He holds a master of economics and business administration degree and PhD from the St. Gallen School of Economics, Switzerland.

Dr. John E. Marthinsen is Professor of Economics and International Business at Babson College, where he holds the Distinguished Chair in Swiss Economics of the Glavin Center for Global Entrepreneurial Leadership. He has extensive consulting experience, working for both domestic and international companies, as well as the U.S. government. Marthinsen has served on the United Nations Association's Economic Policy Council and lectured at the Universities of Bern and Basel in Switzerland and the University of Nürnberg, Germany. From 2000 to 2009, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of Givaudan SA, a Swiss-based flavors and fragrances company. Among his most recent books areRisk Takers: Uses and Abuses of Financial Derivatives, Second Edition and Managing in a Global Economy: Demystifying International Macroeconomics.

Dr. Pascal A. Gantenbein is the Henri B. Meier Professor of Financial Management at the University of Basel's Center of Economic Sciences (WWZ). He also acts as a consultant in the fields of real estate portfolio management, asset management, and real estate institutions. Gantenbein has been a visiting professor with several academic institutions worldwide and was formerly assistant professor of business administration and finance at the Swiss Institute for Banking and Finance at the University of St. Gallen. He also received his master's degree and PhD from the University of St. Gallen.