Anyone who has a lot of money likes to deposit it in Switzerland – including Russians. Because of the sanctions, these funds have come into the public eye. The top bank representative Marcel Rohner asserts: Swiss banks are keeping an eye on the risks in business with Russia.
SRF: Mr. Rohner, in retrospect, was it a mistake to give so many oligarchs shelter in the Swiss banking sector?
Marcel Rohner: It certainly wasn’t and still isn’t a mistake to do banking with people from all over the world. Because we operate these businesses in compliance with the highest quality standards.
It certainly wasn’t and still isn’t a mistake to do banking with people from all regions of the world.
At the same time, the relationships that banks enter into with customers from Russia and other Eastern Bloc countries are exposed to increased risk. This requires an in-depth investigation. In this way, the due diligence requirements lead to reasonable and acceptable growth in such markets.
But still, how did you experience the last few weeks, when the Swiss banking center made international headlines as a hoard of Russian money?
Every large offshore financial center – be it Switzerland, London, the USA or Singapore – holds money from wealthy clients who, for whatever reason, do not want to invest this money in their home country. At the same time, we have agreed on an automatic exchange of information with Russia, like these other countries.
Political events have completely changed the situation.
Actually, this part of the business takes place within a normal framework. But, of course, political events took on extreme dynamics and completely changed the situation. The banking center takes this into account when it fully implements and supports the sanctions decided by the Federal Council.
They keep emphasizing that the banks comply with all sanctions, and very strictly so. Do you believe that of your members, the banks?
Yes, of course. If you look at the entire mechanism based on the Money Laundering Act, you will see a whole bunch of measures that are legally binding. The banks have expert groups and legal specialists who implement this on an ongoing basis. As a financial center, we have a very high level of competence in these questions, which is of course checked annually. They have internal controls, internal and external auditors, and Finma also carries out in-depth audits. In that sense, it’s a regulated industry. This ensures that rules are implemented on an ongoing basis. But of course this regulation is also there because there are increased risks in this business.
There have always been black sheep who, especially in the area of money laundering and corruption, have not always taken it so seriously, even in the recent past. Why are the sanctions different this time?
The sanctions have always been implemented consistently. We are a very large, globally active and one of the most important financial centers in the world.
If there’s any problem or something has been overlooked, then it’s sure to make big headlines.
You are particularly exposed there. If there’s any problem or something has been overlooked, then it’s sure to make big headlines. And it’s also clear that we don’t want that. That is why the banks are making every effort to avoid this.
What is your role from the Bankers Association on the subject of Russia, war and sanctions?
We are an interface between the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs Seco, which decided on the sanctions, and the member banks, some of which need clarifying information on such regulations. There is a multitude of shops and a multitude of complex constellations. In order to clarify such questions, we are in dialogue with Seco.
The conversation was conducted by Eveline Kobler.