A permission to violate banking secrecy?

Luxembourg has long been the herald of banking secrecy, against all odds – including its European partners. It has to be said that this peculiarity paid off and proved attractive for several decades, fuelling the business and prestige of both private banks and the country itself. But it has not withstood the international trend towards greater transparency, as tax evasion came into the spotlight during the economic and financial crisis of 2008.

Banking secrecy had not entirely disappeared, however, as banks are still bound by professional secrecy, which prevents them from divulging information about their customers at will. They can only pass on information as part of an exchange of information procedure initiated by a tax authority in a member country of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).