The offshore financial centres issue and Switzerland's position

The international environment in which financial markets are developing is subject to rapid change. Three years ago, the G7 provided the impetus for a comprehensive campaign against the regulatory loopholes in offshore financial centres. The purpose of this paper is to analyse in greater detail the challenges presented so far in ongoing discussions of the most prominent international committees: the Financial Stability Forum (FSF), the OECD Forum on Harmful Tax Practices and the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). Following this, Switzerland's position on these issues will be presented.