As you may have heard, the once venerable Swiss bank, UBS has taken a turn for the worse over the last year.

When the sub-prime crisis hit the banks last year, UBS was caught right in the crosshairs. Eventually, the Swiss bank had to fess up to more sub-prime exposure than any other bank in Europe. Already the Swiss bank has written-down (crossed off) more off their books than any other bank worldwide.

Truth be told: We did not foresee the terrible UBS business judgment that led to this billion dollar loss (very few could have guessed a Swiss bank would be so shortsighted).

No, what disturbed us since The Sovereign Society began was UBS’s unwillingness to stand up for their clients’ financial privacy.

It all started back in 1998, when UBS surrendered to demands from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Fed gave their blessing to the 1998 merger of Swiss Bank Corp. and Union Bank of Switzerland which created UBS.

But the Fed only signed off on the decision after UBS agreed to provide U.S. regulators all information “necessary to determine and enforce compliance with [U.S.] federal law.” No doubt, that meant U.S. tax laws too.

U.S. regulators had threatened to shut down the bank’s extensive U.S. operations, (an implied threat that still hangs over UBS today). Rather than defend their clients’ privacy rights and Swiss bank secrecy, the bank compromised in a big way.

That is why we have always advised U.S. depositors considering Swiss banks to avoid UBS AG and any other Swiss bank with U.S. based branches, affiliates or banking operations, other than a mere “representative office.”

We have informal arrangements for our members at www.sovereignsociety.com with reputable private investment banks in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Singapore, Hong Kong, Monaco and other jurisdictions that do guarantee financial privacy by law and have no sub-prime exposure.

As I said, as part of UBS’s agreement with the Federal Reserve, they agreed to divulge financial information about their clients (which is unheard of in Switzerland).

In other words, they agreed to run like an American bank. So is it any wonder that this bank suffered under sub-prime exposure – just like the other American banks?

Information about prices, products, services and merchants is provided by third parties and is for informational purposes only. EscapeArtist.com does not represent or warrant the accuracy or reliability of the information, and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.

© Copyright 1996 - - EscapeArtist.com Inc. All Rights Reserved