Smaller Swiss banks under pressure amid demise of Switzerland as tax haven

More private Swiss banks are suffering slumping profits, with a crackdown by the US authorities on tax cheats having a big effect.

A study by consultancy firm KPMG and Switzerland’s University of Saint Gallen found that of the 94 they examined more than a third did not make any profit in 2013.

That compares with one in five operating at a loss a year earlier.

In addition clients withdrew more cash from accounts than came in at over half of the smaller and medium sized banks and they were under pressure from bigger competitors increasing market share.

More than 100 Swiss banks have agreed with the US tax authorities to pay fines for their role in helping wealthy Americans avoid taxes by stashing their money in secret accounts.