The situation has almost certainly changed significantly since 2006, not least because of the initiatives pursued by the US Department of Justice (DoJ), the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the advent of information sharing between the Swiss and other jurisdictions and various tax amnesties introduced in the intervening years. 

Nonetheless, the data contained in the files stolen by Herve Falciani from HSBC’s Swiss private banking subsidiary, provides an interesting snapshot of not just HSBC’s client base and the volume of assets managed but the Swiss private banking sector generally. For according to research con...