It is not the Bank's fault it is the consequence of incompatible US laws. get the Us to chnage it laws then come back. 

Hi Dmitry,

First of all opening a bank account is not a "right", it's a contract between two parties: bank and customer, whereas one offers services (banking) versus a fee (customer paying for those services).

There are many laws regulating the services a bank can offer: local laws (cantonal and national in CH) but also laws of other countries which have international reach (USA is best example, but Russia for example also has laws restricting what Russian nationals can do, even if domiciled in CH). Whether you're affected by the laws of those countries must be determined, hence the many questions you had about US...

In the end the banks can decide if it's worth opening an account for you or not, that's their discretion... just like it is your discretion to choose which banks you would like, or also to close an account you don't want anymore! 

I work in banking, so if you need some advice, & don't mind giving me some personal details, send me a PM and we can discuss...

Regards,

B.

Although you are correct that you may not have a right to open a bank account at particular bank, banks like any other entity that offers services to the public cannot violate basic human rights that all individuals in Switzerland have, whether they are Swiss or foreigners. Among these rights is the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of your nationality or your economic or social status. I have seen Swiss banks claim to be implementing US legal requirements when they refuse a perspective client a bank account, but that is often false. Only if individuals do not, or the bank itself cannot, voluntarily comply with US or other countries laws is it really the fault of foreign law. In most cases concerning Americans and some others, it is merely a form of discrimination that may, depending on the circumstances be prohibited and violation of a RIGHT of an individual not be discrimnated against. Most Swiss banks either do not know this, don't care, or just don't understand it. Thus in the end they put some money in the pockets of poor human rights lawyers that sometimes defend the rights of people who want to open bank accounts.

If you think you have been discriminated against contact me at http://doebbler.net. I likely can't take your case but can refer you to a good Swiss lawyer and if the Swiss judges you get are no brighter than some bankers, I may be happy to represent you before the European Courts of Human Rights or another international human rights body after you have exhausted domestic remedies.  I have dealt with Swiss banks for about 30 years.

Bee K, Jul 16, 2015 @ 15:36

I would love to see this case argued & at a Human Right's court at that!

Do you actually have any examples of a case which went to a Human Right's court because a bank refused to open an account? I would be very interested to read about it…

The matter of the fact is that the opening of a bank account with a private bank is a business deal, and a bank can "discriminate" = choose not to open a bank account based on economic background, as this is the base of the deal which is being made. If a person can't pay for the services which he's requesting, obviously the bank won't open an account. Also, if it's too complicated or costly to service this particular individual because of their nationality and the costs outweigh the benefits, then obviously a bank can choose not to service this person. The fight here would be against their own country or the US if the person happens to have a green card for whatever reason…

We are in Switzerland/Europe here; people have better things to do than start law suits because a bank hurt your feelings!

So again, Dmitry, if you would like me to help you with the review of your case, to see to what extent a bank would open an account for you, I'm happy to discuss… If you choose to sue, I'd love to know how it goes 

We are not in the habit of giving away legal advice and cannot give legal advice in Switzerland. However you might be interested to star by looking at the Swiss Criminal Code art. 261bis (Switzerland, 1937), available at www.admin.ch/ch/e/rs/3/311.0.en.pdf that prohibits discrimination in the provision of any service that is provided to the public on grounds, among others, of ethnic origin.

International human rights law goes even further prohibiting discrimination on a number of grounds, including nationality, for any right that might be created (civil, political, economic or social) under domestic law. Whether this can include services offered to the public as does Swiss law is something to be decided.  

Most good lawyers, particularly Swiss lawyers will not want to take a case to court. Moreover, as the laws creating this problem are quite recent would be unusual for a case to have reached a noticeable level of the Swiss judicial system by now. 

Please do note, that I am not advocating litigation. I am merely observing as an expert in international human rights law, that depending on the circumstances, there may be a right not to be denied a bank account due to personal characteristics.