Swiss Company Formation and Banking

If you want to open a Swiss bank account (Corporate or business account) for a company which already exists or for a company you plan to form you have three options:

1. If your company is incorporated in Switzerland, you can open any account with minimal hassle but the formation of a Swiss company is costly at €5900 for a GmbH.
2. If your company is incorporated outside of Switzerland, you can still open a Swiss account but only if you maintain a balance exceeding CHF100,000 to CHF150,000  on your account (around GBP45,000 to GBP70,000 or US$90,000 to $1405,000)
3. If your company is incorporated in a reputable jurisdiction outside of Switzerland, we can open you accounts in many other jurisdictions equally as secure as Switzerland which require a very small minimum balance of $1,000 or less.

To open corporate accounts in Switzerland requires extensive documentation about the company and all documents have to be authenticated according to the bank's exact instructions. Each country requires different documents, so contact us beforehand. Corporate accounts typically take several weeks to be set up and we cannot describe the set-up process as straightforward because in Switzerland the whole thing can be quite protracted and stressful compared to the alternatives.
Please be advised that we need information about both the company's business and its beneficial owners.

We charge CH1900 or GBP950 or €1250 to open corporate accounts, no matter which type of account you require.

Keep in mind that in many instances a personal account gives you a better solution if all you need is to be able to cash cheques for your work as a consultant - you can endorse those cheques over to your personal account.

Why these restrictions? Swiss banks cannot make money on "in-and-out" business - accounts used mainly for payment traffic. Moreover, corporate accounts require higher scrutiny for the proper due diligence to be applied. The only way banks can maintain corporate accounts in a cost effective way is by applying high minimum balance standards. We understand that this is inconvenient and would prefer, as introducers that these restrictions did not exist. Regretfully they do and we have to work with them.

Please bear in mind that incorporating a Swiss company is a long process that requires €5,950 for the formation and then CHF20, 000 cash just for the paid up capital, so it's hardly a solution if you just want a simple bank account. We form companies all over the world which are often a better option and much more cost effective. Alternatives include Delaware, British Virgin Islands, Belize and the Seychelles.

If you decide to opt for a Swiss company full details are below.

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Swiss Company Formation

The biggest advantage in forming a Swiss company is that Swiss companies are considered the most reliable, respectable and solid entities for over 80 years. Few other jurisdictions combine integrity and reputation with numerous tax advantages in the same way as Switzerland. On the one hand this is based on the independence of Switzerland and on the other hand it is the fact that Swiss companies have never been as easy to form as in most other countries. The higher requirements during a company formation do guarantee that Swiss companies will keep their reputation in the future. On the following we distinguish between the Swiss GmbH and the Swiss AG.

The Swiss GmbH

The GmbH is a Limited Liability Company. It is mainly used for smaller businesses because the registration costs and the paid up capital requirements are lower than for a Corporation (Swiss AG). The signed capital must be at least 20.000, - CHF, half of which must be paid up during the registration. The signed capital cannot exceed 2.000.000, - CHF. Higher amounts require the registration of a Corporation (Swiss AG).

Swiss laws do not limit the number of foreign owners nor their nationality. However, with a GmbH all owners are filed publicly with their full name and nationality. The registration of a GmbH does require a local director whom ORCA/OCG can of course provide.

Both, Swiss GmbH and Swiss AG are exempted from all taxation if structured as Holding companies. If regular business activities are conducted the Federal taxes apply with 7.83%. We can also advise for a conception combining a tax exempted Swiss holding and a tax exempted trading company from another jurisdiction. Such combines the reputation of a Swiss company will tax exemption for all business activities.

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Summary:

The advantages of a Swiss Company

• Excellent Accessibility by Air to Zurich which is one of Europe's main 'hub' airports.
• Stable government.
• One of Northern Europe's most highly educated populations.
• Excellent telecommunications and internet facilities
• Bilingual Workforce.
• Low crime rates.
• Numerous favourable tax treaties with other countries.
• Back-to-back loans can often be arranged and benefit from zero withholding taxes on Repayments back to Switzerland.
• Flexible cantonal and communal tax systems.
• Low federal taxes.
• Ideal geographical location between 3 of Europe's 4 major countries; France, Germany and Italy.
• Rigid banking confidentiality underpinned by both civil and criminal law.
• The local currency is one of the worlds most stable.
• Leading tax planning centre in Europe together with London, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Amsterdam.
• Well qualified and highly professional lawyer, accountants and tax mitigation exports, very costly though!
• One of the wealthiest countries in the world with a per capita income which is the third highest in the world behind Luxembourg ($81,511) and Norway ($55,600), the Swiss per capita income in 2007 was $38,706.
•  Has the highest concentration of multi-national companies on a per capita basis in the world.
• All of the leading Swiss banks enjoy an AAA rating. The highest in the world.
• Excellent road network with fast access to the neighbouring countries of Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein.

The Swiss AG
The AG (Aktiengesellschaft) is a Corporation. It enjoys highest reputation as everybody knows the strict requirements to incorporate this entity. The signed capital must be at least 100.000, - CHF, half of which must be paid up during the registration. Unlike the Swiss GmbH the shareholders of a Swiss AG are not filed publicly. Switzerland is one of only few jurisdictions that issue bearer shares. This allows the shareholders to remain complete anonymous. Swiss laws also do not limit the number of foreign shareholders. It is however required to have a local director whom ORCA/OCG can of course provide.
Both, Swiss GmbH and Swiss AG are exempted from all taxation if structured as Holding companies. If regular business activities are conducted the Federal taxes apply with 7.83%. We offer company formation services in more than 30 other offshore jurisdictions. Most of them also exempt regular business activities from taxation. We can also advise for a conception combining a tax exempted Swiss holding and a tax exempted trading company from another jurisdiction. Such combines the reputation of a Swiss company will tax exemption for all business activities.

Orca Rating For Switzerland

Corporate registration efficiency
Cost
Confidentiality
Local banking facilities
Legal system
Political stability
Reputation