Indian deposits in Swiss banks rise to 14-year high of ₹30,500 crore in 2021

Funds deposited by Indian citizens and the country’s firms in various Swiss banks rose to a 14-year-high of 3.83 billion Swiss Francs (over ₹30,500 crore) in 2021, according to the annual data from Switzerland’s central bank.

This is the second consecutive year that the funds deposited by Indian clients in Swiss banks have increased.

Also read: In COVID times, Indians’ funds in Swiss banks rise to over ₹20k crore

In 2020, a total of 2.55 billion Swiss francs (over ₹20,700 crore) were reported in the Indian accounts, an increase of 183% from the 899 million Swiss francs (₹6,625 crore) in 2019.

The deposits stood at a record high of 6.5 billion Swiss francs (over ₹52,500 crore) in 2006. The data is a collection of official figures reported to the central bank by various individual banks in the country.

However, it does not account for the alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland. It also does not include the money that Indians might have in Swiss banks in the names of third-country entities.

Also read: India gets second set of Swiss bank account details to control black money

A notion of secrecy has always been associated with the banks in Switzerland, making them popular among people.

Following pressure from several countries, Switzerland began sharing information about people holding accounts in their banks with other countries from 2018 onwards. The information includes the owner’s name, address, country of residence and tax identification number as well as the reporting institution, account balance and capital income.

The Swiss National Bank said that the money held in customers’ savings or deposit accounts of Indian account holders increased to a seven-year high of 602.03 million Swiss francs (over ₹4,800 crore) in 2021. In 2020, it was 504 million (over ₹4,000 crore) and 550 million Swiss francs (over ₹4,442 crore) in 2019.

Also read: Money in Swiss banks: India at 77th place, accounts for just 0.06% of all foreign funds

The money held through fiduciaries and trusts also increased to 3 million Swiss francs (over ₹24.75 crore) from 2 million Swiss francs (over ₹16.5 crore) in 2020. In 2019, it was 7.4 million Swiss francs (over ₹59.76 crore).

The amounts deposited through bonds, securities and various other financial instruments also rose to 2 million Swiss francs (over ₹16.5 crore) from 1.66 million Swiss francs (nearly ₹12.8 crore).

In 2019, Swiss tax authorities shared with India the first tranche of details about the financial accounts of Indian clients in Swiss banks under the automatic information exchange framework between the two countries. However, the finance ministry has not made the details public, saying such disclosures are prohibited under “confidentiality provisions” of a tax treaty between India and Switzerland.