Wealth Planning, Trusts and Foundations from Basel — conclusion
Conclusion of the chapter
Wealth planning has become the core of the value proposition of the Basel private banks since the end of banking secrecy for foreign clients. The Swiss foundation under Article 80 of the Civil Code serves charitable purposes in a city with a dense landscape of foundations, while Article 335 restricts family foundations to narrow purposes. Switzerland recognises trusts under the Hague Convention since 2007 and taxes them according to the circular of the Swiss Tax Conference, but the projects for a Swiss trust and for a liberalised family foundation have not yet been enacted. The taxation of wealthy individuals varies from canton to canton, with both Basel cantons having abolished lump-sum taxation. The JUSO initiative for a federal inheritance tax was rejected in November 2025. After the revision of succession law in 2023 reduced compulsory shares, the revision of private international law in 2025 brought the Swiss rules closer to the European Succession Regulation. Family governance, family offices and a network of advisers complete the landscape, while the automatic exchange of information requires every structure to be lawful and properly declared. Art collections, crypto-assets and digital assets, pension savings and real estate each raise planning questions of their own, from the inventory of a collection and the transmission of private keys to second-pillar buy-ins and the Lex Koller. Families who move to Basel face ordinary taxation and must plan their departure from their former country of residence with the same care as their arrival.
Conclusion of Part E
Part E has examined the present state of private banking and its regulatory framework in Basel. The Basel banking landscape is marked by the absorption of the Swiss Bank Corporation into UBS, the collapse of Credit Suisse and its takeover by UBS in 2023, the continuing strength of the Basler Kantonalbank and the survival of a small group of private banks whose origins reach back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. FINMA supervises the financial market with the help of audit firms and supervisory organisations, applying the Banking Act, the Financial Services Act and the Financial Institutions Act, which define the prudential and conduct rules that Swiss institutions must follow. The fight against money laundering has developed since the scandals of the 1980s into a dense system of due diligence duties, reporting obligations and beneficial ownership rules, which Switzerland continues to strengthen under the pressure of the FATF.
The end of banking secrecy for foreign clients between 2008 and 2018 transformed the business of the Swiss private banks. The UBS case, the adoption of the OECD standard, the American programme for Swiss banks and the automatic exchange of information removed the protection that foreign tax evaders had enjoyed for decades. Wealth planning, built on foundations, trusts, succession law, family governance and the coordination of several legal systems, has become the new basis of the business. Part F turns from the domestic financial centre to the institution that has made Basel a capital of international finance: the Bank for International Settlements and the standard-setting bodies that it hosts.
In five sentences
1.The Basel banking landscape today is shaped by the merger of the Swiss Bank Corporation into UBS, the collapse of Credit Suisse in 2023, the Basler Kantonalbank and a small group of old private banks.
2.FINMA supervises banks and other financial institutions under the Banking Act, the Financial Services Act and the Financial Institutions Act, which together define a modern framework of prudential and conduct rules.
3.Switzerland has built a dense anti-money laundering system since the 1980s, extending it to tax offences, beneficial ownership and a transparency register under international pressure.
4.Between 2008 and 2018 banking secrecy ended for foreign clients through the UBS case, the OECD standard, the American bank programme and the automatic exchange of information.
5.Wealth planning with foundations, trusts, succession planning and family governance has become the new foundation of private banking in Basel.
For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.