Several bankers indicated that "the top executives of Swiss banks have said that their wealthy Chinese clients have become more concerned about keeping their money in Switzerland due to its sanctions against Russia," according to the Novosti agency. The Financial Times quoted a member of the board of one Swiss bank saying, "We were not only surprised but also shocked that Switzerland has abandoned its neutral status. I have statistics indicating that hundreds of clients who wanted to open accounts have now abandoned that."
The newspaper spoke with the heads of six Swiss banks, among the ten largest financial institutions in the country, about working with private sector clients, and they all agreed on the same issue. At the same time, many of them noted their concerns about the impact this may have on slowing the profitable development of business.
Analysts also draw attention to the fact that Asian clients contribute significantly to the Swiss banking sector's profits, which represents 10% of the country's GDP.
Meanwhile, one head of a Swiss bank stated that his country "quickly raised its weapon against its clients from Russia," and he told the newspaper, "At some point, we have to draw a line between what Switzerland will intervene in and what it will not."
Switzerland has nearly joined all European sanctions imposed on Russia since February 24, 2022, freezing assets valued at $8.1 billion as part of the sanctions.
The Swiss bank Credit Suisse has banned or frozen more than a third of the Russian assets registered in Switzerland, estimated at 17.6 billion francs (over $19 billion).
