INDIAN MONEY IN SWISS BANKS RISES 50% TO ~70 BILLION
Indian money in Swiss banks rose over 50 per cent to CHF 1.01 billion (~70 billion) in 2017, reversing a three-year downward trend amid India’s clampdown on suspected black money stashed there. In comparison, the funds held by all foreign clients of Swiss banks rose about
3 per cent to CHF 1.46 trillion or about ~100 trillion in 2017, according to the official annual data released by Swiss National Bank on Thursday.
Money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose over 50 per cent to CHF 1.01 billion in 2017, reversing a three-year downward trend amid India's clampdown on suspected black money stashed there.
In comparison, the total funds held by all foreign clients of Swiss banks rose about three per cent to CHF 1.46 trillion in 2017, according to the official annual data released on Thursday by Swiss National Bank (SNB), the central banking authority of the Alpine nation.
The surge in Indian money held with Swiss banks comes as a surprise given India’s continuing clampdown on suspected black money stashed abroad, including in banks of Switzerland that used to be known for their famed secrecy walls for years. The Indian money in Swiss banks had fallen by 45 per cent in 2016, marking their biggest ever yearly plunge, to CHF 676 million — the lowest ever since the European nation began making the data public in 1987.
According to the SNB data, the total funds held by Indians directly with Swiss banks rose to CHF 999 million (~68.91 billion) in 2017, while the same held through fiduciaries or wealth managers increased to CHF 16.2 million (~1.12 billion). These figures stood at CHF 664.8 million and CHF 11 million, respectively, at the end of 2016.
According to the latest data, the Indian money in Swiss banks included CHF 464 million (~ 32 billion) in the form of customer deposits, CHF 152 million (~10.5 billion) through other banks and CHF 383 million (~26.4 billion) as ‘other liabilities’ such as securities at the end of 2017. The funds under all three heads have risen sharply, as against a huge plunge across all categories in the previous year, the SNB data showed.