Indian money in Swiss banks fell 34.5% in 2017: Goyal

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/Indian deposits in Swiss banks fell by 34.5 per cent in 2017 and by 80 per cent since the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said today, citing data from the global body of central banks, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

He said this in Parliament rebutting reports last month, which quoted the Swiss National Bank, the country’s central bank, as saying in its annual report that Indian deposits had risen by 50 per cent in 2017.

He told Rajya Sabha during question hour that he discussed the issue with Swiss authorities, who told him in a written reply that media reports “have not taken account of the way the (SNB) figures have to be interpreted.”

Last month, SNB data that the money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose to CHF 1.01 billion (Rs. 7,000 crore) in 2017 after falling for three consecutive years.