Bangladeshi funds held in Swiss banks rose 41 per cent in 2025 to 834.2 million Swiss francs which is about $1.04 billion, driven by a surge in institutional banking placements even as individual deposits declined, according to annual banking statistics released by the Swiss National Bank on 18 June.
The Swiss central bank data show that bank-originated placements rose 43 per cent to 822.7 million Swiss francs in 2025, which is 98.6 per cent of the total.
By contrast, individual customer deposits fell nearly 10 per cent to 11.4 million Swiss francs, underscoring a structural concentration of flows within the banking sector rather than private wealth accumulation.
The increase takes total Swiss bank liabilities linked to Bangladesh close to the peak of 871.1 million Swiss francs recorded in 2021, marking a recovery after sharp volatility over the recent years of foreign exchange volatility.
The Swiss National Bank classifies these liabilities as a combination of interbank placements, including the accounts used for trade settlement, and private customer deposits.
Officials familiar with cross-border banking flows said such movements typically reflect banks’ liquidity management and treasury positioning rather than directional capital shifts.
They added that banks frequently reallocate funds across jurisdictions based on relative returns and investment needs, meaning year-to-year fluctuations in Swiss holdings.
Swiss banking transparency has expanded under global anti-money laundering standards in 2018.
Within South Asia, India remained the largest holder of Swiss bank assets at 3.2 billion Swiss francs in 2025, despite an 8 per cent decline.
Bangladesh ranked second, followed by Afghanistan, which recorded the fastest growth at 48.2 per cent from a small base of 4.7 million Swiss francs.
