Singapore VCC insights

Singapore Banking Secrecy vs Switzerland: What Section 47 Still Protects in the CRS Era

By VCC Editorial Team · Published 15 October 2026 · Updated 16 October 2026

Short answer: Section 47 of Singapore’s Banking Act 1970 still makes unauthorised disclosure of customer information a criminal offence, and Article 47 of the Swiss Banking Act does the same. Neither law blocks automatic tax reporting. Both centres send account data abroad under CRS and FATCA, so what survives is confidentiality towards private parties, not secrecy from tax authorities.

This article is general information only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. For matters needing legal advice, we work with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms.

Singapore banking secrecy is often discussed in the same breath as Switzerland’s, and often wrongly. Both centres still give bank customers statutory confidentiality backed by criminal penalties. Both also report account data automatically to the tax authorities of their partner jurisdictions. This note covers what each law protects, its exceptions, the reporting overlay and what confidentiality still means for a family office. All sources were checked on 15 October 2026. Our earlier Singapore vs Switzerland family office comparison covers tax, regulation and residence.

What does section 47 of the Banking Act 1970 actually protect?

It protects “customer information” held by a bank in Singapore. The bank and its officers must not disclose it except as the Act expressly provides, and breach is a criminal offence.

The Act’s own heading for section 47 is “Privacy of customer information”. Section 47(1) provides that customer information “must not, in any way, be disclosed by a bank in Singapore or any of its officers to any other person except as expressly provided in this Act”. Other subsections complete the regime:

• Section 47(2) permits disclosure only for the purposes, to the persons and on the conditions set out in the Third Schedule.
• Under section 47(5), a person who receives information under Part 2 of the Third Schedule must not pass it on, except as that Schedule allows or a court orders. Under section 47(7)(b), that duty survives the end of their employment or engagement.
• Section 47(8) confirms that a bank may agree with a customer to a higher degree of confidentiality than the statute requires.
• Under section 47(9), customer information that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) obtains incidentally in inspecting, investigating or supervising a bank, and does not need for that purpose, must be treated as secret.

The penalty in section 47(6) applies to anyone who breaches section 47(1) or (5). An individual faces a fine of up to S$125,000, imprisonment of up to 3 years, or both. Any other person faces a fine of up to S$250,000.

When can a Singapore bank lawfully disclose customer information?

Only in the situations the Third Schedule lists. Part 1 is headed “Further Disclosure Not Prohibited”; Part 2 is headed “Further Disclosure Prohibited”, so recipients under Part 2, such as outsourcing providers and auditors, stay bound by section 47(5).

Third Schedule item	Purpose of disclosure	Who may receive it
Part 1, item 1	Customer’s written permission (or that of the personal representative of a deceased customer)	Any person the customer permits
Part 1, items 2 to 4	Probate or administration, bankruptcy or winding up, and certain proceedings between the bank and the customer	Persons to whom disclosure is necessary; the court may sit in private
Part 1, item 5	An order or request under a “specified written law” for investigating or prosecuting an offence, or a complaint or report under such a law	Authorised police or public officers, or a court
Part 1, items 6 and 7	An enforcement order attaching a debt, or a Supreme Court order under Part 4 of the Evidence Act 1893	Persons named in the order
Part 1, item 8	A request from the parent supervisor of a foreign bank or a foreign-owned bank	The parent supervisory authority. Deposit information is excluded
Part 1, item 9	Compliance with the Banking Act 1970, the Deposit Insurance and Policy Owners’ Protection Schemes Act 2011, or any MAS notice or directive to banks	MAS or persons it authorises
Part 2, items 1 to 3	The work of the bank’s officers, professional advisers and auditors; internal audit and risk management; outsourced operations	Named group entities and service providers, subject to MAS conditions for outsourcing
Part 2, items 4 to 8	Mergers and share issues, transfers of credit facilities, credit bureau reporting, and creditworthiness checks between banks	Deal participants, the credit bureau and other banks. Deposit information is excluded from credit bureau disclosures

The Schedule names the “specified written law[s]” for item 5. They include the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, the Goods and Services Tax Act 1993 and the Income Tax Act 1947, so a criminal tax investigation is an express exception. Item 9 ties section 47 to MAS supervision: disclosures to MAS that comply with the Act or a MAS notice or directive fall within it.

How does Swiss banking secrecy under Article 47 compare?

Switzerland treats banking secrecy as professional secrecy enforced by criminal law, with penalties in some respects heavier than Singapore’s. Like section 47, it yields to statutory duties to testify and to inform authorities.

Article 47 of the Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks (Banking Act, SR 952.0) appears on Fedlex in its version as at 1 October 2026. Our summary, translated from the German text:

• Paragraph 1: intentional disclosure of a secret entrusted to, or learned by, an officer, employee, agent or liquidator of a bank (or an Article 1b person) or of an audit firm, inducing such a breach, or passing on or exploiting a secret so disclosed, carries up to three years’ custodial sentence or a monetary penalty.
• Paragraph 1bis (in force since 1 July 2015): up to five years where a financial advantage is obtained.
• Paragraph 2: negligence, a fine of up to CHF 250,000. Paragraph 4: the duty survives the end of employment.
• Paragraph 5: federal and cantonal duties to testify and to inform authorities are reserved. Paragraph 6: the cantons prosecute.

The structures differ. Singapore lists every permitted disclosure in a closed schedule. Switzerland states a broad duty and leaves the exceptions to other laws through paragraph 5. Switzerland also criminalises negligence and onward disclosure by recipients of leaked secrets.

Singapore banking secrecy vs Switzerland: what do CRS and FATCA override?

Neither banking law stops account data reaching a customer’s home tax authority. In both centres, banks report under CRS and the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) as a separate statutory duty.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) states that Singapore “has been exchanging financial account information with partner jurisdictions under the CRS since September 2018”. The legal basis is Part 20B of the Income Tax Act 1947 and the Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (Common Reporting Standard) Regulations 2016. Reporting Singaporean Financial Institutions (SGFIs) must register by 31 March and file by 31 May. For FATCA, Singapore has a Model 1 intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the US and has reported to the US since 2015.

Switzerland’s legal basis for the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) entered into force on 1 January 2017, according to the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF). The SIF’s AEOI partner list records that exchanges with Singapore and Hong Kong have run under the multilateral agreements since 1 January 2024, replacing earlier bilateral agreements. On FATCA, the SIF’s FATCA page explains that Switzerland uses Model 2. Swiss institutions report directly to the US tax authority with the US client’s consent; without consent, the US must use administrative assistance channels.

Point	Singapore	Switzerland
Statutory confidentiality	Banking Act 1970, s 47 and Third Schedule	Banking Act, Art. 47 (SR 952.0)
Maximum penalty (individual, intentional)	S$125,000 fine, 3 years’ imprisonment, or both	3 years or a monetary penalty; 5 years where a financial advantage is obtained
Negligent breach	No separate negligence offence in s 47	Fine of up to CHF 250,000
CRS	Exchanges since September 2018; amended CRS from 1 January 2027	AEOI legal basis in force since 1 January 2017; amended law due in force on 1 January 2026
FATCA	Model 1 IGA; reporting via IRAS since 2015	Model 2 since 2 June 2014; Model 1 signed 27 June 2024, earliest entry into force 1 January 2029
Beneficial ownership register	ACRA Central Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC), not public	Transparency register under the new Act in force from 1 October 2026

The “negligent breach” row reflects section 47 only; we have not analysed other Singapore data protection laws.

What changes from 1 January 2027 under the amended CRS and CARF?

Singapore’s amended CRS rules take effect on 1 January 2027. Crypto-asset reporting under CARF follows, with exchanges intended from September 2028. Switzerland has already legislated for both, but has deferred CARF.

According to the IRAS CRS overview, Singapore signed the Addendum to the CRS Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on 26 November 2024. The Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (Common Reporting Standard) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 bring the amended CRS into domestic law from 1 January 2027. Exchanges under the amended CRS are expected in 2028. The CARF Regulations 2026 were enacted on 11 August 2026, and Singapore intends to begin CARF exchanges from September 2028. Our CRS 2.0 and CARF briefing covers the effect on trusts and VCCs.

In Switzerland, the Federal Department of Finance announced on 26 November 2025 that the amended Federal Act on the International Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters and its ordinance were due to come into force on 1 January 2026. They cover the updated CRS and CARF, and bring associations and foundations directly within the CRS, subject to exclusions. Because a parliamentary committee suspended deliberations on CARF partner states, the Federal Council decided that the crypto-asset provisions would not apply in 2026; CARF will be implemented in 2027 at the earliest.

Do beneficial ownership registers weaken bank confidentiality?

Not directly. They are company-law registers kept for law enforcement and anti-money laundering purposes, separate from bank records.

In Singapore, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) has kept a Central Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC) since 30 July 2020. ACRA states that the information “is not available to the public”. Company officers, corporate service providers and law enforcement agencies may access it; shareholders who are not officers may not. Our sister site Singapore Secretary Services covers company secretarial compliance, including these registers.

In Switzerland, the Federal Council announced on 12 June 2026 that the new Act on the Transparency of Legal Persons and the Identification of Beneficial Owners, and the revised Anti-Money Laundering Act, would enter into force on 1 October 2026. The Act establishes a transparency register for beneficial owners of legal entities, with registration transition periods starting on that date. We have not verified the Swiss access rules, so we do not describe them.

What does banking confidentiality still mean for a family office and its private bank?

It means protection against unauthorised disclosure to private parties such as litigants, counterparties, the media and other banks. Tax authorities still receive account data and authorised investigators can still obtain it.

A family office’s legitimate interests are commercial privacy, personal security, discretion in family disputes and control over who sees the structure chart. Section 47 serves these well: disclosure needs a Third Schedule basis, leaks are criminal, and section 47(8) allows stricter contractual terms. A practical sequence:

1. Assume full tax transparency. Confirm each account holder’s and controlling person’s tax residence and self-certification, because these will be reported. Our note on source of wealth for family office bank accounts covers what banks now expect.
2. Map who inside the bank’s group will see the file. Part 2 of the Third Schedule permits outsourcing, group risk management and audit disclosures, with recipients bound by section 47(5).
3. Give written consent only for a stated purpose and to named recipients. A broadly worded consent under Part 1, item 1 reaches further than many principals realise.
4. Consider an express confidentiality agreement under section 47(8) for sensitive matters, such as the identity of a protector or the terms of a family charter.
5. Keep company and trust records aligned with bank records. The RORC, trust records and the bank’s beneficial owner file should name the same people.
6. If assets are also booked in Switzerland, check how each entity is classified under the Swiss AEOI rules.

See also Singapore as a wealth booking centre and our note on VCCs for private wealth, succession and confidentiality.

Frequently asked questions

Is Singapore banking secrecy stronger than Switzerland’s?

Neither is clearly stronger. Switzerland allows up to 5 years where a financial advantage is obtained and criminalises negligence; Singapore combines fines of up to S$125,000 with up to 3 years’ imprisonment. Both yield to tax reporting and lawful orders.

Can a Singapore bank tell a foreign tax authority about my account without my consent?

Not on its own initiative, but statutory reporting does not depend on consent. Reporting SGFIs must report CRS and FATCA information to IRAS, which exchanges it with partner jurisdictions under international agreements. Disclosure for investigations under specified laws, including the Income Tax Act 1947, is also permitted.

Can MAS see my account details?

MAS may receive customer information where disclosure complies with the Banking Act 1970 or a MAS notice or directive (Third Schedule, Part 1, item 9). Information it obtains incidentally and does not need for supervision must be treated as secret under section 47(9).

Will crypto holdings be reported from 2027?

Singapore’s CARF Regulations were enacted on 11 August 2026, and IRAS intends to begin CARF exchanges from September 2028. Switzerland has legislated for CARF but deferred its application to 2027 at the earliest.

Sources

• Banking Act 1970, section 47 and Third Schedule (Singapore Statutes Online)
• Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks, SR 952.0, Art. 47 (Fedlex)
• IRAS: CARF Overview and Latest Developments
• Swiss Federal Department of Finance: amendment to the automatic exchange of information, 26 November 2025
• ACRA: Filing with the Central Register of Registrable Controllers

Raffles Corporate Services helps family offices and fund managers set up Singapore structures with clean, consistent ownership records, from VCC incorporation and family office set-up to ongoing compliance. Email hello@rafflescorporateservices.com or Call/SMS/WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or visit Raffles Corporate Services.

Last reviewed: 15 October 2026. The Editorial Team, Variable Capital Companies Act.

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