|
|
|
Banking Secrecy |
|
Bank secrecy (or bank privacy) is a legal principle under which banks are allowed to protect personal information about their customers, through the use of numbered bank accounts or otherwise. Effective bank secrecy is better achieved in certain countries, such as Switzerland or in tax havens, where offshore banks adhere to voluntary or statutory levels of privacy. Created by the Swiss Banking Act of 1934, which led to the famous Swiss bank, the principle of bank secrecy is sometimes considered one of the main aspects of private banking. It has also been accused by NGOs and governments of being one of the main instruments of underground economy and organized crime, in particular following the Class action suit against the Vatican Bank in the 1990s, the Clearstream scandal and September 11, 2001. Advances in financial cryptography (e.g. public-key cryptography) make it possible to use anonymous electronic money and anonymous digital bearer certificates to achieve financial privacy and anonymous internet banking. Source - Wikipedia |