Have you ever heard of bank secrecy?  If not, then did the question of hiding your money in the safest way possible ever crossed your mind?  Almost all people would want to keep their money as safe and as hidden as possible.  This is where bank secrecy comes into action.  Banks practicing this principle is allowed to keep all information regarding their customers and customers’ accounts secret, and Switzerland is one of the most prominent countries that have been practicing bank secrecy.

Swiss Banking Act of 1934 is the one which invented bank secrecy, and this act strictly prohibits third parties from obtaining valuable information of Swiss Banks’ clients, and ever since then, the Swiss banks gained more popularity.  It is only when a Swiss bank is served a subpoena by a Swiss judge that any information can be released provided there is just cause (money laundering and criminal acts) that this information should be released.

Though many organizations are against this because they only promote tax evasion and underground economy, it is still supported by many people who want their money kept as privately as possible.  But because of the bank secrecy act, people take advantage of bank secrecy to hide their laundered and stolen money, and to discourage such criminal act, Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 was created to prevent bank secrecy from being used for illegal means, and this act requires banks to keep track of all transactions exceeding $10,000 and to report anything that sounds suspiciously like a criminal act.

Hiding money is not the only purpose of people turning to bank secrecy.  There are a number of positive and as well as negative reasons why bank secrecy is used by people.  Bank secrecy protects your money from confiscation and corruption of local government agencies.  It also establishes privacy against the paparazzi and newspapers who are only too happy to divulge private things like money and assets of celebrities and famous people.  With bank secrecy, it keeps your account away from solicitation and criminals.

All in all, people just want privacy.  That is why they open an account in banks that practice bank secrecy.  Whether people may have good or bad intentions, still, Bank Secrecy is available for the public.