In 1996, Switzerland and the United States signed a tax treaty. After the signing, however, Swiss banks continued not to cooperate with U.S. authorities who wanted information on accountholders who were connected to the United States and who may have been evading their tax obligations.  

When UBS AG made a public announcement in August of 2008 that it was under investigation by United States authorities, many of its banking customers took their accounts elsewhere. One of the places they took the accounts to was Finter Bank, a Zurich based bank.  After August 2008, Finter Bank had an estimated 283 accounts linked to U.S. accountholders. These accounts had an aggregate minimum balance equal to approximately $235 million.