The largest Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse in autumn began to massively close the accounts of their Russian clients, three sources in the private banking market told Forbes.
"The banks force their clients to close accounts with assets of less than $5 million. In case of refusal, the customer is obliged to pay a monthly fee for account maintenance. It is about CHF 1,000 per month," a banker said.
According to another banker, such policy of Swiss banks affected customers from Russia last year, but only the customers with accounts of less than $3 million experienced difficulties. Some customers got into trouble because the banks notified of their decision via mail.
"Many Russian clients received paper notices in their special leased mail boxes in Switzerland. Of course, no one checks their content every day, and for three to four months, the customers have not been aware about the decision of the bank and had to pay a commission fee," a banker said.
Read alsoRussia transfers $37 mln for pensions in DPR every month: BloombergAccording to the sources, in such a way banks want to minimize country risks, and focus on servicing larger accounts. Forbes notes that Russian clients are not the first ones to have difficulties with the Swiss bank accounts. In 2013, Credit Suisse closed the accounts of customers from Angola, Turkmenistan and Belarus subject to sanctions.