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II Development As an International Financial Center II Development as an International Financial Center Historical Developments depository for funds during the 1920s and the 1930s, and Swiss banks received deposits on a massive scale, Switzerland has a long tradition of capital exports. mainly from Germany. A new Banking Law passed in As domestic savings exceeded domestic spending, 1934, to protect depositors during the worldwide bank- Swiss financiers and governments were already ac- ing crisis of the 1930s, created problems for Switzerland tively engaged in international finance in the eighteenth not only with Germany during World War II but also century. Net capital exports continued into the twen- with the United States after the war. A side product tieth century, except during periods of the nineteenth of the law was rules on bank secrecy, which prevented century, when domestic credit demand increased with banks from providing information on bank accounts industrialization and the building of railroads, and for to outsiders. These rules precluded Switzerland from a time after World War I. The excess of domestic acceding to the demands of the U.S. Government to savings was largely a result of financially sound gov- have German assets held in Swiss bank accounts and ernments in the cantons and towns and was in marked in other placements confiscated for war reparations. contrast to the large financing needs of many other Despite substantial political pressure, the Swiss Gov- European governments, which resulted from contin- ernment did not succumb to the demands but rather uous engagements in war. The financial performance agreed to a compromise whereby only part of the of both the Swiss governments and the private sector German assets in Switzerland would be confiscated 3 was based on several factors. First, the country main- for war reparations. tained political neutrality and thereby did not incur Switzerland's ability to preserve a relatively stable large war expenses. Neutrality was a consequence of and strong currency increased the attractiveness of the multiconfessional and multilingual character of the the Swiss banking system. Only once in the period Confederation, the strategic location in the center of from the end of World War I to 1971 was the Swiss Europe, and the small size of the country.2 Second, franc devalued (in 1936). Switzerland also maintained Switzerland was able to maintain trade with the bel- a very low rate of inflation by international standards. ligerent countries and also benefited, on a large scale, During the 1950s, the increase in consumer prices from income earned from Swiss military service abroad, averaged 1 percent a year. With the strong expansion through treaties concluded with foreign sovereigns. in economic activity, prices accelerated to an annual Finally, in the early stage of industrialization, Swiss rate of 3 percent during the 1960s and 4 1/2-5 percent exports of cotton and silk products prospered because in the period 1970-85, closely following the rate of of little competition from abroad. inflation in the Federal Republic of Germany, but Although Switzerland had exported capital for cen- inflation was still low compared with other industrial turies, it was not until the twentieth century that it countries (Chart 1). became a "safe haven" for foreign funds and began Since the early 1960s, international financial trans- to intermediate between foreign savings and credit actions have expanded strongly, with the convertibility demand. After World War I, the currencies in Austria of major currencies and liberalization of capital move- and Germany collapsed and the financial systems were ments. When monetary conditions at home and abroad in disarray. Switzerland, having avoided hyperinflation differed considerably, Switzerland experienced sub- and having been less affected by political unrest than stantial inflows of foreign capital which exerted an other European countries, became attractive as a safe upward pressure on the Swiss franc. During political upheavals abroad, the neutrality of Switzerland and 2 Swiss neutrality as it exists at present developed through centuries. It was recognized formally by the European powers in 3 In 1952, German firms that had their assets held in Switzerland the Congress of Vienna (1815). confiscated were indemnified. 3 II • DEVELOPMENT AS AN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTER Chart 1. Switzerland: Economic Indicators Chart 2. Nominal and Real Short-Term Interest Rates (In percent) Source: International Monetary Fund, Data Fund. 1 Compared with the same period of the preceding year. 2 An increase (decrease) in the index indicates appreciation (de- preciation) of the Swiss franc. Sources: International Monetary Fund, Data Fund; and staff calculations. 1 For the Federal Republic of Germany, three-month interbank rates; for Switzerland, three-month deposit rates with the big banks; its bank secrecy also played a role in attracting capital for the United States, three-month treasury bills. inflows. This was the case, for example, when Egypt's 2 Deflated by the increase in the consumer price index in a month accounts in the United Kingdom and in the United compared with the same period of the preceding year. States were temporarily frozen after the Suez crisis and again in the wake of the first major oil price increase in 1974 and also during the political events in in the early 1980s led to an increase in foreign exchange the Islamic Republic of Iran in the late 1970s. Despite denominated deposits with Swiss banks (especially several attempts to discourage capital inflows, the fiduciary deposits) rather than Swiss franc deposits, monetary authorities frequently had difficulty in con- thereby leaving the exchange rate unaffected (Sec- trolling domestic liquidity without allowing a sharp tion V). appreciation of the Swiss franc (Section V). Since the early 1980s, however, international capital flows have not seriously conflicted with domestic Conditions for Development as an policy aims. This is possibly explained by the sharp International Financial Center tightening in monetary policy in the United States and in other countries, which permitted the Swiss author- The history of Switzerland illustrates some of the ities to pursue a monetary policy aimed at securing factors which have been important for the development price stability without threatening external competi- of its financial center. Because of its small economy, tiveness (Charts 2 and 3). The high return on U.S. it is not a natural center for international trade and dollar and other foreign exchange assets is possibly finance as are the large industrial countries (e.g., the also the explanation why the international debt crisis United Kingdom and the United States). Nor has its 4 Conditions for Development as an International Financial Center Chart 3. Nominal and Real Long-Term Interest the first Swiss banking centers emerged in Geneva and Basle close to France and the Federal Republic of Rates Germany. In addition, the use of three main European (In percent) languages (French, German, and Italian) has also facilitated international banking. The hard-working mentality of the Swiss people is no less a factor— working hours in Switzerland continue to be high by comparison with other industrial countries. Although a surplus on the external current account is not a necessary condition for a country to become an international financial center, it certainly promotes it. Swiss capital exports developed because domestic savings exceeded domestic needs. Switzerland contin- ues to have a high savings propensity compared with other industrial countries, such as the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. During the last two decades, both the gross and net savings ratios have been exceeded only by Japan's and have been substantially above the ratios of Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States (Chart 4). Despite the relatively small size of the Swiss economy, among industrial countries in 1985, Chart 4. Gross and Net Savings Ratios1 Sources: International Monetary Fund, Data Fund; and staff calculations. 1 Public bond yields. 2 Deflated by the increase in the consumer price index in a month compared with the same period of the preceding year. Government promoted it through the creation of off- shore facilities or special tax incentives or bank su- pervision as have the governments of other small economies (e.g., the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, and Singapore). Rather, it has been a combination of fundamental political and economic factors, such as high economic growth, low inflation, external sur- pluses, sound government finances, political neutrality, bank secrecy, and a universal banking system, that has established confidence in its financial markets. None of these factors is unique to Switzerland. But few countries have, to the same extent, experienced so many of these conditions and maintained them over a long span of years. Switzerland's geographic position, in the heart of Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Develop- Europe, also played an important role in its develop- ment, National Accounts Statistics. ment as a financial center. It was no coincidence that 1 Net savings equal gross savings less depreciation. 5 II • DEVELOPMENT AS AN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTER the current account surplus of Switzerland (US$41/2 prescribes severe penalties for breach of bank secrecy.6 billion) was exceeded only by that of Japan (US$49 1/2 Just as with violations of official secrecy, breach of billion),
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