BANKING: Less Go-Go in Switzerland

God, after all, created Switzerland for one purpose—to be the clearinghouse of the world.

—Paul Rossy, former vice chairman, Swiss Banking Commission

By all appearances, divine purpose is still faithfully served along Zurich's elegant Bahnhofstrasse, where the great names of Swiss banking conduct their worldwide affairs behind stately fagades of Alpine granite. Yet the air of heavenly serenity on the stylish street provides a curtain for mundane turmoil. After the worst scandal in Swiss banking history, that sedate and secretive industry has moved—or rather been pushed—to tighten up some practices that have proved shockingly loose. The changes may turn out to...