Les banques suisses et la libéralisation financière Essor et protection du marché de l 'évasion fiscale, 1958-1963.

On the basis of extensive archival research, this article examines an important episode in the history of Switzerland as a tax haven. In the late 1950s, at a time when their international business boomed thanks to liberalized capital movement in Europe, Swiss bankers faced an unprecedented number of criticisms of the country's banking secrecy. These threats could soon be dismissed. The defense of secrecy was spearheaded by the Swiss Bankers Association, but it was supported, or at least tolerated, by the leaders of the major powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]