Mr. Niall Cody:

One must look at the rules in the countries in which the entity is based. Bank secrecy is the central part of the whole banking area and there is nothing wrong with bank secrecy itself. It is like taxpayer confidentiality. If one had one's money lodged in an account in Ireland, that would be kept confidential. In itself, confidentiality is a cornerstone of the banking system. The issue here is that at the time about which we are talking, tax evasion was not a criminal offence in Switzerland.