Recently, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) threatened to add Switzerland to its list of Tax Havens. This action is being driven by the global economic crisis and that fact that in the face of reduced tax revenues, governments are getting much tougher in going after tax avoidance. As an example, the U.S. Congress and the Treasury Department are taking steps to make it more difficult to move companies to low-tax countries. This is an initiative that has gained traction of late due to the expanding U.S. budget deficit — the latest Treasury estimates note that the U.S. loses out on around $123 billion dollars annually because taxable money is "sheltered" abroad.

This presents an interesting conundrum for the Swiss banking industry. Its reputation as a safe place to store cash — well- or ill-deserved — may end up costing it money in the face of such crackdowns. Whereas in the past, such a reputation made folks eager to invest funds with Swiss banks, that same reputation now makes such action a risky undertaking. As such, Switzerland is already responding by agreeing to relax its bank secrecy laws in order to make it easier for foreign financial crimes investigation units to obtain information. This is definitely a step in the right direction for the Swiss. As there is no end in sight to the financial crisis, it is not likely that foreign governments will decrease such pressure anytime soon.