Swiss Banks

Since the early1930s,Swiss banks had prided themselves on their system of banking secrecy andnumbered accounts.Over the years,they had successfully withstood every

challenge to thissystem by their own government who, in turn,had been frequently urged byforeign governments to reveal information about the financial affairs ofcertain

account holders.Theresult of this policy of secrecy was that a kind of mystique had grown uparound Swiss banking. There was a widely-held belief that Switzerland was

irresistible towealthy foreigners,mainly because of its numbered accounts and bankers'reluctance to ask awkward questions of depositors.Contributing to the mystiquewas

the

view,carefullypropagated by the banks themselves,that if this secret was ever givenup,foreigners would fall over themselves in the rush to withdraw money,and theSwiss

banking system wouldvirtually collapse overnight.

To many,therefore,itcame like a bolt out of the blue,when,in 1977,the Swiss banks announced theyhad signed a pact with the Swiss National Bank(the Central Bank).The

aim of the agreementwas to prevent the improper use of the country's bank secrecy laws, and itseffect to curb （遏制）severelythe system of secrecy.

The rules which thebanks had agreed to observe made the opening of numbered accounts subject tomuch closer scrutiny than before.The banks would be required,if

necessary,toidentify the origin of foreign fund going into numbered and other accounts.Theidea was to stop such accounts being used for dubious（可疑的）

purposes.Also,theyagreed not to accept funds resulting from tax evasion or from crime.

The pact representedessentially a tightening up of banking rules.Although the banks agreed to endrelations with clients whose identities were unclear or who were

performing improperacts,they were still not obliged to inform on a client to anyone,including theSwiss government.To some extent,therefore,the principle of secrecy had

been maintained.

Swiss banks tookpride in________.

A.the number oftheir accounts

B.withholding clientinformation

C.being mysteriousto the outsiders

D.attracting wealthyforeign clients