From The Sunday Island
by Albert J. Fernando,
Canada
The new leaders of India and Sri Lanka are trying to find out the identities of their citizens holding secret accounts in Swiss banks. This is not a malady that affects decision makers in Third World countries only. Even those from developed countries such as Europe and North America too prefer Swiss banks for their secrecy. For example, in Canada, former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney figured in, a Swiss bank scandal some time back.
I did not travel to Switzerland on such a secret mission. But I did transact some business at a Swiss bank which normally allows only account holders to do business there. Even if I wanted to open an account, it was out of the question simply because the minimum amount required was US $ 100,000! Yet they allowed me to convert my US$ 100 note into Swiss francs. More than that (and here is the most intriguing part of the story), they even allowed me to visit the vault downstairs where the account holders have their safety deposit boxes! How did I get this rare privilege? Let me tell you how it happened.
A few years back, I was one of the six travel writers (three each from Canada and USA) who were selected by the Swiss Tourism Office to travel to Switzerland and observe various aspects of that country for two weeks.
Lugano
On the tenth day of our busy program, we arrived at the beautiful city of Lugano. Before narrating my encounter at the Swiss bank, let me tell you something about this southern Swiss city. To put it simply, Lugano has the best of both worlds. The canton of Ticino, of which the main city is Lugano, borders with Italy. The city of Lugano, therefore, has Mediterranean climate with palm trees and other sub-tropical plants, beautiful lakes and gardens; at the same time there is Swiss efficiency and cleanliness for which Switzerland is famous the world over. The language spoken here is Italian.
Lugano is also famous for banks. In fact this is the third prominent Swiss city for financial institutions—others being Zurich (some pronounced it sarcastically as "So Rich") and Geneva. When we arrived in Lugano, we were informed to our surprise that the following day, there will be a visit to a Swiss bank. "You can also have a look at the vaults," the coordinator told us in a matter of fact tone. "The vaults, safe deposit boxes, wow, what more can you expect!" we thought to ourselves.
The following day, about 2:30 p.m., we all walked into the premises of the Gottardo Bank, like a bunch of Boy Scouts with great excitement. Oops, we cannot go in just now, we were informed. Why, any bank robbery going on, I thought to myself, a thought I did not want to share with others. "Since the bank does not want us to come in until all the customers have left, we will first take you to the adjoining art gallery maintained by the bank," we were told politely by the coordinator.
So off we went to the art gallery which is adjacent to the main bank building. The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the bank was waiting for us there. After a short introduction, she gave each of us a package of documents about the bank and a complimentary Swiss Army knife worth about US $50.
Changing the money
We spent about an hour viewing a video and looking at the exhibits, but getting into the vaults was on everyone’s mind. The time was now about 3:30 p.m. The bank closes to the customers at 4:00 p.m. and therefore, we had to wait another 30 minutes. "Let’s have some coffee," the Swiss coordinator suggested pointing out a restaurant across the street. It was then I remembered that I have to change my American $100 note into Swiss francs. So while others walked towards the restaurant, the PRO took me inside the bank. She reminded me that normally transactions are possible only for the account holders, but since I am a guest of the Swiss Tourism, she will make an exception.
The lobby of the bank resembled that of a 4-star or 5-star hotel with comfortable chairs and large vases with fresh flowers. And here was another surprise that I encountered. There were no counters that are a quintessential feature in any bank! Instead, I noticed about five or six desks with a smiling teller behind each of them. "There is not even a single Swiss franc with any of them," the PRO informed me quite casually. After being briefed by the PRO about the nature of my business in Italian, an attractive young teller nodded and inquired from me, "So you want to change US $ 100 into Swiss francs, right?" When I answered in the affirmative, she said, "No problem", and took charge of my US currency note.
After typing something into her computer, the teller inserted my note into a transparent plastic cylinder and sent it down through a chute. Within three minutes or so, up came the cylinder, this time containing Swiss francs. I learned later that there is a secure room downstairs that has all the major currencies in the world manned by a staff member. His computer will show, as the teller types upstairs, what currency is coming downstairs and also what currency it should be converted into. No wonder the tellers do not carry any money. Further, not having any money with tellers also frustrates any bank robbery.
After pocketing the Swiss currency, I thanked the PRO and walked across the road to join others. By this time my colleagues had finished sipping their coffee. Once I finished my cup of coffee, the coordinator announced that it is now time to visit the bank. So with great excitement, we followed her quietly. By this time, all customers had left the premises.
The safety deposit boxes
The PRO gave a brief introduction about the bank. "Our customers generally drive in and park their vehicles in the basement parkade and take the elevator to the lobby. After doing their business they go down to the basement and drive away," she told us adding that the customers prefer to maintain their privacy.
As we were taken downstairs, there was an adrenal rush in all of us. Once we were in the deposit box area in the vault, we encountered yet another surprise: None of the safety deposit boxes had numbers! Anticipating our query, PRO said, "So you will ask the obvious question: ‘Where is your box, if you have one?"’ She answered the question herself stating that any deposit box holder is first processed at the lobby and when he/she comes down, the door of the relevant box will be kept open. Also, only one customer is allowed at any given time. (Otherwise, they can help themselves to another box that is kept open). Just imagine what must be inside those boxes? I got the eerie feeling that I am standing just a few feet away from boxes of gold, diamonds, high-value currency notes and jewellery worth millions of US dollars.
An interesting matter disclosed to us was that some customers have invested in famous paintings each worth several millions of dollars. For security reasons they do not want to keep them at home and have placed them in the custody of the bank. Again came that eerie feeling again: Originals of Picasso, Monet, van Gogh, Rembrandt and others must be "hiding" just a few feet away from me.
What is the point investing millions of dollars in a painting if you can’t see them yourself, one may ask. The PRO explained: The owner of each such valuable painting makes an appointment once in a while to have a look at it. After his arrival at the safety deposit box area, the painting will be displayed on an easel in a small room. The owner will admire the painting sipping a cup of coffee for some minutes, after which he will depart.
When we came up, one clever member of our team asked the PRO, "What if bank robbers come in, hold the tellers hostage and ask for the security codes of the currency room or the safety deposit boxes?"
"Don’t worry, within 10 seconds a security team will arrive at the scene and deal with it", the PRO declared quite confidently.
"Is the security team armed?" he next asked like an investigator.
"Now that is a question which we cannot answer" pat came the reply.
Thus ended our ‘secret mission’ to a Swiss bank.
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