Swiss federal council advocates better protection of bank client data

The Swiss Federal Council on Wednesday an initiative to increase protection of bank data and toughen penalties on sale of those data.
The council supports the parliamentary initiative which states that "the sale of bank client data will be severely punished , the aim of the initiative is to improve client data protection", said the Swiss federal council in a press release from its Headquarter in the Swiss capital, Bern.
"The Federal Council supports the proposals of the Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee of the National Council EATC-N. They improve the protection of clients' personal rights and strengthen their confidence in the Swiss financial centre. They also thereby ultimately contribute to improving competitiveness," said the statement.
It noted that the proposed legislative changes will not be rendered superfluous by the introduction of the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) because it cannot be assumed that all countries will conclude an agreement on the AEOI with Switzerland. In addition, the relationship between the client and the financial institution in Switzerland will not be affected by the AEIO.
The Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee of the National Council (EATC-N) considers it unsatisfactory that people who pass on client data stolen from a financial institution or use it for their own benefit are not liable to prosecution.
It thus recommends closing the existing loophole in the entire financial market sector. It should also now be possible to impose more severe penalties on whoever procures economic benefit from violating banking secrecy or the other professional confidentialities in the financial market sector.