Financial Transparency Coalition

Over the past six months, various arms of the law in the United States have significantly increased their anti-money laundering enforcement actions. The centerpiece of these actions have been fines to ING, Standard Chartered, and an anticipated forthcoming action against HSBC. Other banks, and even Wal-Mart, could be targeted in the near future as well.

Switzerland's legendary banking secrecy is feeling the pressure. A series of tax treaties will make Swiss deposits more vulnerable to scrutiny from law enforcement. The treaties, specifically the German-Swiss one currently being negotiated, are far from perfect, but from the perspective of someone with a deposit in UBS or Credit Suisse, their cover is blown. You may think that this is something that will directly lead to historic prosecutions for epic-scale tax evasion, but that is unlikely. Instead, as Reuters reports, a significant portion of the $2 trillion deposited in Swiss banks are simply going to be withdrawn:

Frank Vogl, one of the founders of Transparency International, wrote an op-ed in the Financial Times today. He is optimistic that the rise of information technology will lead to more assertive judicial systems and more accountable government.

The 2012 annual conference of the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development will take place at the Ramada Plaza Tunis in Gammarth, Tunisia, from October 17-18.