I am just in the process of selecting a bank in Switzerland. I have noticed with Credit Suisse, UBS and other major banks that a withdrawal limit exists. For example, the owner of the account cannot withdraw more than 100,000 CHF per month with UBS, and to draw more than this 3 months notice needs to be given. The same applies for Credit Suisse although they have a 6 month notice requirement.

My questions are as follows:

1. Is this standard for all banks in Switzerland?

2. What if I have a million dollars and wish to buy a new 200,000 car next week, how do I resolve this issue with the bank (very hypothetical I do not have this money!)

3. How do rich people access their money quickly, such as outlined in Question 2? Do they have a special account that gives you access to large funds quickly? I am asking this in case I wish to buy a house in the future in Europe.

4. If I was an overseas investor and I had large sums of money, would this not be restrictive in terms of investing in the Swiss banking system?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Just following up on this I notice Credit Suisse has a 'current account' that has not withdrawl limits. So I guess I have answered my own question! I am just wondering if UBS has a similar account.

1. Yes, every bank has withdrawal limits for certain/most accounts, however they may vary from bank to bank.

2. Most if not all banks will let you withdraw the money anyway, however you have to pay for it; usually they look at the notice period and will charge you the interest you generated with the money (i.e. if you want to withdraw 200k, your limit is 30k and the notice period 3 months, you will have to pay the interest for 3 months on 170k). This is at the bank's discretion, they might decide to wave the interest fully or partially.

3. You can have accounts with no or very high withdrawal limits (Kontokorrekt, Depositenkonto), tho you will not get any or hardly any interest. The higher the interest, the stricter the withdrawal restrictions.

4. If you want to invest money, you wouldn't just stick it in a bank account.

Thanks for your answer.

I just found out that UBS also has a 'current account' that allows for no withdrawal limits, it does however cost 3 CHF per month.

Thinking through all of this I am just wondering why tax evaders would put their money into swiss bank accounts when the accounts earn bugger all interest here with such low interest rates.

My UBS current account has a limit of 100k a month or 3 months notice. They will let you withdraw your money immediately, but charge you 1% for the privilege. I managed to get out our money without penalty. I couldn't believe that when I said that I wanted to give notice to withdraw the funds they had no way of doing so - no form, no process, nothing.

To get your 200k car, you simply buy it at the end of the month. 100k last day of the month and 100k the next day That's what I needed to do for big transfers. Our Credit Suisse account has a CHF 500k per year restriction on withdrawals. Haven't managed to hit that limit yet

Aren't I lucky that I don't have your problems

I was just reading on their website the following for UBS:

1. Current account, no withdrawal limit
2. Personal account, 100 K per month limit
3. Savings account, 50K per month limit

You would even less likely stick it in a UBS Managed Investment Fund.

The reason the Swiss banks don't pay much interest is because they don't have to and the Swiss Franc is probably one of the most stable currencies in the world at the moment.

Any idea where you would stick/invest CHF 100,000 plus of funds?

The answer to all your questions is make friends with your bank manager. Any big transactions and he/she can put it through. Keep him/her in the loop and you'll be surprised at how all sorts of things suddenly become possible