Paria inter Pares - Das Ende der Bank Wegelin

The Wegelin Bank was, until its dissolution in 2012, the oldest existing bank in Switzerland. Like other banks, it came under scrutiny from US authorities due to untaxed assets held by US clients. However, unlike other financial institutions, the conflict with the US justice system sealed the fate of Wegelin Bank.

Dr. Otto Bruderer and Dr. Konrad Hummler, both former partners of the bank, commissioned financial historian Dagmar Schönig and economic historian Tobias Straumann to investigate the matter from an external perspective and to document the history of the bank for future generations. Their focus included the question of why a private bank from St. Gallen had to disappear at that time, while almost all other Swiss banks that were penalized were able to continue existing.

The result is a comprehensive and objective account of the history of Wegelin Bank, whose downfall is one of the most significant events in Swiss financial history at the beginning of the 21st century.