80% drop in Indian money in Swiss banks

Quoting data derived by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), India's Finance Minister Piyush Goyal revealed that deposits by Indians in Swiss banks declined by 34.5 per cent in 2017 and 80.2 per cent between 2013 and 2017. The statement was made as a report on the increase in Indian deposits in Swiss banks triggered a political slugfest. Quoting Swiss authorities, Goyal told Rajya Sabha that the figures were wrongly interpreted. “Swiss authorities say that the figures published by the Swiss National Bank are 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 clarify 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 government response,” he said.