Switzerland's Struggle Against Fiscal Imperialism

``This actually happened to the oldest Swiss bank, Wegelin. That bank thought they could survive without the US dollar because they had no assets in the United States. They were making a terrible mistake, because the US government warned all banks: Any bank that deals with Wegelin is in violation of US law. As a consequence, no bank dared to deal with Wegelin anymore, and Wegelin, the oldest Swiss bank, finally went out of business. The Bank Wegelin case was an extreme example that taught a lesson to the industry: Every bank targeted for violating US law abroad has no chance to survive US prosecution.''