Safety in numbers

The words 'Swiss bank' or 'Swiss bank account' carry with them an air of mystery, of intrigue, of sophistication, and, more often than not, of dishonesty as well. Because the participants in the world of Swiss banking have been so successful in preserving the discretion and the secrecy which forms one of their major assets, there has, until now, been no serious or reliable book about them and their activities through the ages.

This major gap has now been filled by Nicholas Faith, himself a distinguished financial journalist. In this exciting new book he cuts through the thickets of myth which surround the people and the institutions involved. He explores the legends surrounding them- including the central myth that the Swiss introduced their famous system of banking secrecy to help Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany and finds the truth is very different from the myth.

Safety in Numbers goes to the roots of Swiss banking (more recent and far less sturdy than the Swiss would have us believe) and explains some of the more significant episodes when the customs and practice of the banking community came into conflict with the policies (not to mention the legal systems) of other countries, especially the United States. The cast of characters involved is awesome, from Voltaire to the Shah of Persia, from Richard Nixon to Robert Kennedy, from the heroes of the Algerian Revolution to the villains of the New York underworld. The present time is ideal for this pioneering work, The unparalleled series of

scandals which crupted throughout the 1970s has produced far more information about the Swiss banking system than was previously available, from sources within the United States government archives even more than in Switzerland itself. The truth about earlier episodes, like the banks' crucial role in helping the Nazi war effort, can now be extracted from the archives - and from the survivors. Recently - and, to lovers of mystery, sadly - Swiss banks have started to resemble their counterparts in other countries, and the book ends with a description of the painful events which have gradually forced them to behave like their counterparts in other parts of the world.