WHAT ARE THE SAFEST BANKS IN THE WORLD?

Thinking of Switzerland as a haven for tax evaders and little more is simply wrong. Things have changed a lot in recent years, starting with the transparency of the financial sector.

We welcome you to our new open space in collaboration with AdviseOnly. We are Goodwill Asset Management : we are a team that deals with asset management with an approach based on transparency. Our idea is that new regulations, such as MIFID II, are a great opportunity to establish new relationships of trust between savers and management companies, and this is exactly what we will try to tell you about within this BrandCorner.

What are the safest banks in the world?

When it comes to Switzerland and savings, many of you are likely to think of large vaults , fictitious companies and large wealth hidden from the tax authorities.

Let it be said without too many words: you are wrong and, to prove it, we are willing to put our face on it, explaining the business reasons that led us – we, international managers – to move to Switzerland, a country that has made the management of savings and investments a pillar of its economy. Furthermore, more importantly, it is close to Italy , accessible to all savers and not only to those who have a millionaire heritage and know exactly which banks are the safest in the world .. We subscribe to it. So let’s answer the question: which are the safest banks in the world?

The strong points of Switzerland

Political stability – Here we talk about the authentic foundations of a country: compared to the current turbulent European political scenario, Switzerland enjoys an enviable political stability: the collaboration between the parties and the high sense of political-financial responsibility put at the center the national interest.
Effective system of government – There are seven ministers in Switzerland. We write it again: seven. Coordinated by a President of the Confederation (currently, a woman, Doris Leuthard). Ministers remain in office for four years and there are no motions of no confidence. Therefore, once a government has taken office, it can govern properly for the whole time of its mandate. And it does.
Low public debt – In contrast to the rest of the world, Swiss public debt is falling. Switzerland has a public debt-to-GDP ratio of 27%, which is among the lowest in the world.

White list – Since last August, Switzerland has become part of the white list of the Italian government, that is, in the list of those friendly countries with which an automatic exchange of information is active. For example, to target financial crimes and to avoid double taxation. Therefore, since August 2016, Italian investors and companies have access to the Swiss capital market with far fewer charges, to invest or find financing, in full transparency.
Economic freedom – The Heritage Foundation classifies Switzerland as the fourth country with the greatest economic freedom in the world, after Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand. The ranking takes into consideration four pillars of freedom: the efficiency of the judicial system; the role of the public sector in the economy; the effectiveness of the regulations governing the company, employees and monetary policies; and finally the opening of the markets for goods and services.

- Administrative slenderness – Doing business in Switzerland is simple: relations with the authorities are centralized in a single interlocutor, a sort of government consultant who facilitates business activity. Just to give an example, to start our Family Office – the Swiss equivalent of an Italian SGR (Asset Management Company) – it took us 18 days. Eighteen days to obtain authorization for consultancy and asset management in Switzerland and from Switzerland, a decidedly complex authorization procedure, which involves notaries, lawyers, banks and regulatory controllers, but simple for transparency and bureaucratic efficiency of the Country System.
- Simplicity of credit granting mechanisms – Switzerland is a country that cares about substance and that encourages entrepreneurial activity, so requesting financing on the account or a mortgage has literally astonishing times for an Italian. Do you know how long it takes? A few hours.
- State guarantee on cantonal bank deposits – Which are the safest banks in the world? The Swiss cantons: the state, which is solid, guarantees the deposits of the cantonal banks 100%, not like in Italy where deposits are guaranteed up to 100 thousand euros, by a private fund that has as its objective an ex-ante financial endowment equal to 0.8% of deposits.
- Multi-currency accounts – A multi-currency account is normal in Switzerland: in Swiss francs, euros, dollars, pounds, etc. This is a nice advantage: in the unfortunate event of the implosion of the euro, a current account domiciled in a country that has adopted the euro and then leaves it would be renamed in the national currency, which in all probability would depreciate, if that country were there. ‘Italy. There is no such risk in Switzerland, because a euro account is and remains a euro account as long as its holder wishes.
- Stronger banks – The capitalization criteria of Swiss banks (for example Core Tier 1, the ratio between the bank’s capitalization and risky loans) are higher than in the EU. Which are the safest banks in the world? Swiss banks are on average more robust and better able to manage risks than other European banks. There are no stress testsbanks where banks must demonstrate that they are able to bear the risks: this is because the parameters of the Basel III regulations must be respected at all times. In Switzerland, the financial system protection body (FINMA) has previously asked banks to issue hybrid bonds (CoCo bonds), so that, if necessary, banks are able to absorb any capital losses immediately . Since the amount of this preventive buffer is high and investors are mostly institutional, the small saver is virtually immune to any bail-in .

The benefits of Switzerland certainly do not end there, and we will continue to talk about it.

Very often in our career we have been faced with conflicts of interest that push the industry not to make the interest of the saver. In GoodWill Asset Management we put transparency at the center and, with this public space, we want to demonstrate it, putting ourselves on the line, without fear of having direct contact with the public in advising you not only on the safest banks in the world, but also on a range of other essential services for the preservation and growth of your patronage.

The savings industry is changing, there are standards ( Mifid II ) coming up that have all the air of drastically changing the relationship between financial advice and investors. We want to accompany you along this path, dialoguing with you and highlighting the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow’s consultancy.