Switzerland forced to open its vaults: New law requires identifying owners of opaque trusts

Switzerland's federal parliament passed the Corporate Transparency Act by a majority vote, a regulation that closes legal loopholes in bank secrecy and requires banks in Geneva and Zurich to record the full name of the ultimate beneficial owner of every legal entity, offshore corporation or trust registered in the country.

The reform was approved under the direct threat from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to place the Swiss banking system on its "grey list" of opaque jurisdictions.