Which Swiss Bank

For many non-Swiss residents, opening of a Swiss bank account seems difficult because you are not familiar with foreign banking practices, their reputation, safety record, size and so on. And often there is a language problem as well. There are over 500 banks in Switzerland, all with somewhat different policies and services and not all accept American clients. Many banks in fact require you to appear in person. On-line account opening is not possible.

The minimum deposits to open an account vary from bank to bank and many banks (like the ones we work with) look for high networth clients with at least $500,000 free capital to open a personal relationship. I have been working with Zurich's most prestigious, old-established, and financially very substantial private banks (see details below) and would be pleased to assist you. There may be others that meet your requirements. For an overview of Swiss banks and asset managers, click here.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. (www.juliusbaer.com) was established more than 150 years ago, in 1850 as a family bank. The bank is the flagship of the Julius Baer Group, whose share price is quoted on the Swiss, English and German Stock Exchanges. The Baer family is holding a large portion of the voting capital and members of the third and fourth generation play the leading roles in management. Yet, the bank has preserved its character as a truly private Swiss bank. Total assets under management exceed 114 billion Swiss francs (2004) and the bank's money market paper is assigned Moody's highest P-l rating.

Bank Vontobel AG (www.vontobel.ch) founded 1924, is another first-class bank and is the core company within Vontobel Holding AG, listed on the Swiss & German Stock Exchanges. The Vontobel families, together with their foundation, own a majority of the Vontobel Group's share capital and voting rights. Hans-Dieter Vontobel is the third generation of the Vontobel family to head the bank. Total client assets entrusted to the care of Bank Vontobel are in excess of 50 billion Swiss francs (2004).

About Swiss safety
The custodian banks carry all accounts in the name of their clients. Securities are traded and held in the bank's name but for client accounts, segregated from the bank's own assets.

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