Swiss deposits fell by 34.5% in 2017

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

Debunking as “baseless and unfounded” the reports of increase in Indian money in Swiss banks, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday told the Rajya Sabha that Indian deposits, in fact, fell by 34.5 per cent in 2017 and by 80 per cent since Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed power at the Centre in 2014.

He cited data from the global body of central banks—the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)—to refute reports quoting the Swiss National Bank that Indian deposits in Swiss banks went up by 50 per cent in 2017, leading to ruckus and adjournment of the House.

Replying to a question by INLD’s Ram Kumar Kashyap seeking “information on black money from Switzerland”, Goyal said he had discussed the issue with the Swiss authorities, which, in a written reply, said media reports “have not taken account the way SNB figures have to be interpreted”.

Reports that money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose by over 50 per cent to Swiss Francs (CHF) 1.01 billion (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017, reversing a three-year downtrend amid India’s clampdown on suspected black money, had made headlines last month.

Goyal told the House that figures published by the SNB were regularly mentioned by the Indian media as a reliable indicator of the amount of assets held with Swiss financial institutions in respect of Indian citizens. “They (Swiss officials) have clarified how this is wrong.

They say more often than not, the media reports have not taken into account the way the figures have to be interpreted, which has resulted in misleading headlines and analysis. This is (the Swiss) government response,” he said.