There was a time back in the day when Swiss banking secrecy was worth something. The protagonist in The Wolf of Wall Street famously tried to abuse that system... with, lamentably, bad consequences.
Apparently, and in full view of privacy-defying rules and in compliance with US tax laws, wealthy peeps are shifting their assets to Switzerland nonetheless:
Wealthy Americans both in the US and abroad are drawing up contingency plans to move assets to Switzerland amid uncertainty caused by the Trump administration. Private bankers, multi-family offices and asset management groups said they had seen a large increase in clients wanting to set up Swiss-based bank and investment accounts, especially ones that are compliant with US tax rules.
Americans cannot simply open a Swiss bank account due to strict regulations such as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), which requires foreign banks to report US account holders to the Internal Revenue Service. But if a Swiss wealth or asset manager is registered with the SEC in the US they can help clients open accounts and manage the money.
Strange, too, that the authors kept harping on about how this is in compliance with U.S. laws and not secret yada-yada:
Swiss banks in 2013 adapted to US tax rules by increasing transparency, complying with Fatca and sharing information on US account holders to avoid legal penalties. The process for ensuring that their US clients are compliant with these rules had been a turn-off for some Swiss banks.
Good for them, I guess. Flag theory is great; shift your risks around, etc.
Have you thought about a Swiss bank account in your mind?!
non-paywalled: https://archive.md/Z0EQy