Vontobel’s Staub Sees Fewer Swiss Banks After U.S. Probe

Vontobel Holding AG Chief Executive Officer Zeno Staub said a U.S. initiative to reveal undeclared accounts in Switzerland will speed up the disappearance of one third of the nation’s banks.

“I would expect it accelerates the process,” the CEO of the Zurich-based bank and brokerage told reporters at a briefing in London today, referring to an Aug. 29 U.S. Department of Justice program for Swiss financial firms to volunteer information and pay fines to avoid prosecution.