Switzerland's government has begun public consultation on the automatic exchange of client information with two major – and rival – financial centers in Asia.
The alpine nation is expanding its network of countries with which it will begin exchanging client data next year. The move is does away with the last vestiges of secrecy, which Switzerland held to until massive international pressure on its banks and politics led the country to cave.
On Friday, the government sent two agreements to exchange data with rival financial centers Hong Kong and Singapore into consultation. The move is noteworthy in that Switzerland was thought to have been waiting to see how Hong Kong and Singapore fall into line with standards from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD.
Singapore, for example, still doesn't exchange data with Indonesia, one of its largest offshore markets.
Exchange from 2019
The Swiss government said it plans to begin exchanging data with the two Asia centers in 2019 – one year behind when the country adopts the standard with 38 countries, including the European Union states.
Consultation runs until the end of January 2018, and the government expects to submit a dispatch for both Hong Kong and Singapore's agreement by spring. This paves the way for adoption next year ahead of the formal exchange beginning in 2019.
