Swiss banks a haven for worried Brits

Swiss private banks have seen a sharp rise in British clients who are moving assets offshore to escape a chaotic Brexit.

Swiss private banks have seen a sharp rise in British clients who are moving assets offshore to escape a chaotic Brexit, several sources familiar with the situation said.

“In recent months, the number of accounts opened from Britain has trebled,” one person at the wealth-management arm of a large international bank in Switzerland said.

Swiss banks do not disclose details of their clients but the sources said that most of the accounts opened by Britishbased clients were for high networth British nationals wanting to shift some assets to safehaven Switzerland.

This trend had clearly intensified in recent weeks, a source at a large Swiss bank said.

DEADLINE

Wealthy Britons also want to protect their assets against the possibility of a high-tax Labour government coming to power soon, another source said.

The pound has lost 17%-18% against the dollar and the euro since the UK’s vote on EU membership in June 2016.

With just weeks to go before Britain’s deadline to leave the EU on October 31, the terms of the UK’s departure, and possible ramifications for its economy, are still unclear.

One Swiss private banker said that his bank had also drawn more customers from Britain over the past three to six months.

A source at the Swiss wealthmanagement arm of a second international bank, said rich Britons were particularly afraid that the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn will win an expected UK election soon and find ways to get a share of their money.

“More than anything else, people are afraid of Corbyn,” the person said.

Swiss banks, such as UBS and Credit Suisse, are among the world’s biggest wealth managers, favoured in part for Switzerland’s economic and political stability.

The Swiss franc is also popular as a safe-haven investment at times of uncertainty.

HIGH NET-WORTH BRITONS SENDING THEIR MONEY OFFSHORE, WORRIED THAT A LABOUR GOVERNMENT WILL MEAN HIGHER TAXES

Statistics compiled by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) show Britons held nearly $19bn in Switzerland as of the end of March, the most recent figures available.

That is off peaks of about $30bn during the financial crisis.

Luxembourg is another attractive offshore market for wealthy Britons.

British residents had parked more than $14bn in Luxembourg as of the end of March, and the trend has been on the rise over the past three years, BIS data shows.