Swiss Bankers Association

The Swiss Bankers Association is a professional organization of Swiss financial institutions.

Background

The trade association known as the Swiss Bankers Association was founded in 1912 in Basel, Switzerland. It is the primary industry group representing the Swiss Banks to the government of Switzerland and to the governments of other states. The unity provided by this organization allows the various Swiss Banks, from the "Big Two" (UBS AG and Credit Suisse) down to the smaller community and cantonal banks, to collaborate on various issues of importance to the banking community.

Firstly, the banks engage in a form of self-regulation, in conjunction with the Swiss Federal Banking Commission. Under this system, the banks draw up a code of conduct in partnership with the SFBC, which is then enforced through the oversight of the SFBC.

Secondly, the banks maintain more security, both for their clients and for the world, by working together. They can more adequately protect clients identity, while they can also collaborate to aid the Swiss government in freezing the funds of criminals being investigated under the 1983 Federal Law relating to International Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.

Finally, like any trade organization, the Swiss Bankers Association promotes the image of the Swiss Banks, and of Switzerland as the world's banking capital.

Organization

The organization today has almost 784 institutional members (banking, securities, and auditing institutions) and approximately 10,509 individual members (high-ranking officials within the institutional members). The chief executive officer of the organization is Urs P. Roth, with Pierre Mirabaud as Chairman of the Board.

A complete list of the members can be found under the external links.

References

* [http://www.swissbanking.org/en/home/portrait.htm "SwissBanking - Portrait"] , "Swiss Bankers Association", Accessed 31 May 2007.

* [http://www.swissbanking.org/en/home/gl.htm "SwissBanking - Executive Board"] , "Swiss Bankers Association", Accessed 31 May 2007.

External links

Main Site (English) - [http://www.swissbanking.org/en/home/home.htm]

Members of the SBA - [http://www.swissbanking.org/en/home/mitglieder.htm]