(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – Sri Lankans had Swiss francs (CHF) 307 million in Swiss banks last year, according to the latest figures compiled by the Swiss National Bank as on 2016-end.
Sri Lanka has also slipped to 151st place in terms of money parked by its citizens with Swiss banks, while the United Kingdom (UK) remains on the top.
Among Sri Lanka’s neighbouring countries, Bangladesh was ranked 89th (CHF 667.5 million), while Nepal was 150th (CHF 312 million), and Bhutan was way below at 282nd (about half a million Swiss francs).
The total money belonging to the developed countries fell to CHF 824 billion, while those from developing nations actually rose marginally to CHF 208 million.
The money from developing economies in Asia-Pacific Region rose to CHF 50 billion.
The funds parked in Swiss banks from offshore financial centres rose to CHF 389 billion.
Swiss banks have also said Indians have “few deposits” in Swiss banks compared to other global financial hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong amid stepped-up efforts to check the black money menace.
The total money held in Swiss banks by foreign clients from across the world, incidentally rose by a small margin from 1.41 trillion Swiss francs (CHF) to CHF 1.42 trillion during 2016.
In terms of individual countries, the UK accounted for the largest chunk at about CHF 359 (Over 25%) of the total foreign money with Swiss banks.
The United States (US) came second with nearly CHF 177 billion or about 14%. No other country accounted for a double-digit percentage share, while others in the top-ten included West Indies, France, Bahamas, Germany, Guernsey, Jersey, Hong Kong, and Luxembourg.
Courtesy: Press Trust of India