HSBC loses one of its best-known tax experts to a compliance adviser, where he will take charge of one of the most burning dossiers of Swiss business.
Konrad K. Haeuptli, tax expert and managing director at HSBC Private Bank in Switzerland on March 1st will join icomply, a Zurich-based company specialized in banking compliance. icomply confirmed to finews.ch that Haeuptli will join the company as a partner.
At icomply, the tax expert will take charge of the most burning issue in Swiss business – the challenges facing Swiss banking with the introduction of the automatic exchange of information. Haeuptli will also work on issues such as reporting standards and the U.S. Fatca tax regulation.
Haeuptli studied law at the University of Bern, with further studies at the Universities of Zurich and George Town. After finishing this education, he started his career at the defense ministry in Bern and at the cantonal tax authorities of Solothurn.
Expert on Trusts
Following these stints in public administration, he switched to the private sector, working first at Swiss Re. Subsequently, he had a family office for 25 years before joining HSBC.
In 2006, Haeuptli was named head of the new trust business unit of HSBC Private Bank and HSBC Guyerzeller in Zurich. For a while, he was member of the tax and finance commission of the Swiss Bankers Association.
As such, Haeuptli knows the trust business, an area which Swiss banks believe may cause the biggest headaches as they attempt to move into a so-called white-money era. His expertise will be in demand no doubt.
