More than nine out of ten (91 per cent) of Swiss citizens across the Alpine state want to protect banking privacy, with 73 per cent favouring support for confidentiality in banking, a survey by the Swiss Bankers Association has found.

At a time when Swiss banking secrecy – a key feature of the country’s financial system for centuries – has been under international attack, the findings illustrate how hard it will be for legislators in Switzerland to make major changes without public support.

“The Swiss banking sector enjoys stable image ratings, and the banks – in particular the client’s main bank – are perceived as solid, reliable and trustworthy. The majority of the Swiss population is positive about the attractiveness of Switzerland as a financial centre and believes it has a clear competitive advantage over other countries,” the SBA said.

The survey covered a sample of 1,000 Swiss citizens (500 German-speaking, 301 French-speaking and 199 Italian-speaking) over the age of 18. The sampling error is no greater than +/-3.1 per cent, the SBA said.

The 91 per cent figure of those stating that they want bank clients’ financial data to be protected against third parties is actually higher than last year, when the figure was 89 per cent.

“In other words, it is not just about showing positive sentiment towards the banking sector. This is also reflected in the fact that bank-client confidentiality continues to enjoy the firm support of the Swiss population,” the SBA said.

Cantonal banks retained and consolidated their strong positions, with 29 per cent of respondents as clients, followed by the Raiffeisen banks and Postfinance, which are closely ranked at 20 per cent, the report said.

“Although the Swiss population did not rate the main banks they use quite as positively as last year (2010: 87 per cent positive), a result of 85 per cent is still encouraging,” it said.

“Broadly speaking, the perception of the banking sector among the Swiss population has remained stable. The damage to the banking sector’s image resulting from the financial crisis has not yet been fully repaired, but respondents with a positive attitude towards the banks (46 per cent) still outnumber those whose opinion is negative (23 per cent),” it said.

Meanwhile, the SBA survey found that 59 per cent of the people interviewed – slightly more than the previous year’s figure of 56 per cent – view the position of the Swiss financial centre as favourable in comparison with the UK, Singapore, Luxembourg and the US.

 The survey was conducted in January 2011 by the independent research company MIS Trend SA, Lausanne/Berne.