The truth is that we don’t know what is coming or what the consequences will be, but it could be a new, even secular trend. 

If even a part of what the incoming US presidential administration is discussing comes to fruition, it might greatly benefit Swiss private banking.

That is because, if nothing else, Trump will likely exacerbate the fractures in the already large geopolitical divide between the largest and most powerful political and economic blocs.

But many clients and businesses, particularly from the major countries of the Global South, won’t be entirely comfortable with being overexposed to US, European, and Chinese banks in the long-term. 

That kind of highly polarized world needs a third alternative that favors sovereign offshore financial centers at least one step removed from either side of the fence.

«The Double Take» is a new feature on finews.com that will be published regularly that comments on thematic issues affecting the Swiss banking hub.

Andrew Isbester, the author, spent almost two decades working for major Swiss and European financial institutions, working in a variety of functions including communications, financial reporting, business risk, and financial crime. He currently is an editor-at-large in the wider finews group.