Swiss Secrets No More: Indian Deposits in Swiss Banks Reach Three-Year Peak

Indian deposits in Swiss banks have surged to a three-year high, more than three times in 2024 to 3.54 billion Swiss francs (approximately ₹37,600 crore), according to the latest data released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) on Thursday. This is a steep bounce-back from a spectacular 70% fall in 2023, when Indian deposits had fallen to a four-year low of CHF 1.04 billion.

 

Key Highlights

 

Record Surge: Indian money in Swiss banks increased over three times in 2024 to CHF 3.54 billion—the highest since 2021, which was CHF 3.83 billion.

 

Banking Channels Fuel Expansion: The lion's share of the expansion was derived from money in other banks and financial institutions, which increased to CHF 3.02 billion (from CHF 427 million during 2023). Direct customer deposits increased moderately by 11% to CHF 346 million (approximately ₹3,675 crore), which accounted for only one-tenth of the total.

 

Composition of Indian Funds (End-2023):

Not Black Money: Swiss authorities once again stated that these figures might not necessarily be black money. Since 2018, Switzerland has been exchanging annual financial information of Indian residents with Indian tax officials under the automatic information exchange agreement.

 

Global Ranking: India jumped to 48th worldwide in Swiss bank cash, from 67th in the last year but below its ranking of 46th in 2022.

 

Regional Comparison: Indian deposits rose while Pakistan's funds fell to CHF 272 million, and Bangladesh had a sharp rise to CHF 589 million.

 

Global Leaders: Global leaders in Swiss bank deposits of CHF 222 billion, CHF 89 billion, and CHF 68 billion are the UK, US, and West Indies, respectively.

 

Transparency Initiatives: Hundreds of cases have witnessed cross-border exchange of information between Swiss and Indian officials, supporting tax evasion and financial irregularity combating efforts.

 

"Assets of Indian citizens in Switzerland cannot be termed as 'black money'," Swiss officials stated. "Switzerland actively supports India's fight against tax evasion and tax fraud." 

 

Source: Economic Times, NDTV, Business Standard, Swiss National Bank data.