This confusion is not new, I remember back in 2010 the messages of Swiss bankers about the end of bank secrecy, were very confusing. Some mentioned it was ending and others that it was not; others claimed that transparency was approaching but only for Europe and the US. For specialists in international taxation, the answer was clear: it was the end of bank secrecy in Switzerland and there was no turning back. The process was slow. It began in 2009 with the lifting of bank secrecy for exchanges on demand with the US and will only reach its fullness this year, with automatic exchanges. Little by little, Swiss bankers were accepting the reality, although the delays in the implementation did not help to clear up this confusion.
Finally, identification rules on banks’ tax residence changed and the information was being prepared. Next September 30, 2018 will be the first exchange of financial accounts information with countries with an activated relationship with Switzerland. In order to see each country’s activated relationships, click the following link.
Honestly, I do not think that Swiss bankers had a bad intention. I think their attitude was the result of a mix of feelings of denial, helplessness, ignorance, and perhaps despair to see their business disappear.
Messages from bankers, fiduciaries, and company managers in countries such as Panama and the Bahamas, and including Uruguay, on automatic exchange are currently confusing, and this is logic, because the implementation which took almost 10 years in Switzerland, must be adopted in just a few months in these countries!