ASSESSMENTS

Switzerland: In the Limelight

Sep 22, 2009 | 16:06 GMT

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

Summary

Throughout the 20th century there existed a tacit agreement between Europe's great powers that the Continent needed a neutral, out-of-the-way place where diplomacy and espionage could be conducted in a civilized manner and financial assets could be safely sheltered. Thus Switzerland became a hub for back-channel interchange. But the global financial crisis has put pressure on Bern to identify banking clients who owe taxes to cash-strapped governments, and Bern is providing names.

The global financial crisis may be changing Switzerland's traditional status as a tax haven....

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