This article refers to a specific group of Swiss banks identified by the Swiss National Bank as group 8 - "private banks". This group of banks is characterized by a legal status of partnership and special banking law provisions referring to solicitation of funds, information obligations and advertising. What makes the Swiss private banks (also referred to as private bankers or private banking houses) extremely interesting is their long history (dating back to the XVIII century), their contribution to economic development of Europe, their role in setting standards in financial services and above all - their professional ethics and reputation which helped Switzerland achieve the status of world financial centre. Since the end of Word War II the number of Swiss private bankers has dropped dramatically: out of 84 private banks operating on the Swiss market there remained only 14. The analysis of present state of Swiss private bankers and the explanation of reasons of their decline is taken up in this article. The general position of Swiss private bankers in the banking world is analysed in the broader perspective of conditions related specifically to Switzerland.

Keywords: private banks, Swiss Private Banking Association, asset management, bank secrecy, Switzerland.

  Joanna Pietrzak, Are Traditional Swiss Private Bankers in Decline? - plik pdf; (213 KB)