Swiss banks operating in Italy will not be compelled to reveal the identity of beneficial owners of assets deposited with them by Italian fi...

Swiss banks operating in Italy will not be compelled to reveal the identity of beneficial owners of assets deposited with them by Italian firms known as "fiduciarie statiche" after a new ruling by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission. Clients of these firms will now be able to side-step Swiss anti-money laundering rules, which require banks to know the identity of all account beneficiaries, including accounts that are numbered or held in other names. But the ruling only applies to banks with operations in Italy, not to those servicing Italian clients from Switzerland, and only to dealings with "fiduciarie statiche". "Fiduciarie statiche" manage assets for clients domiciled in Italy. Under Italian law, they open accounts and place deposits with banks in their own name and can't disclose their clients' identity to the banks without the clients' written consent.