Don’t Hold Your Gold in a Swiss Bank — Or Any Bank

Apr 20

3 min read

Why even the safest banks in the world are no place for your gold

For decades, Switzerland has been synonymous with stability, security, and conservative banking. But in today’s world of financial smoke and mirrors, even Swiss banks can no longer guarantee the safety of your wealth — especially when it comes to physical gold.

At Income From Gold, our singular mission is to preserve wealth through the private, personal ownership of physical gold and silver held outside of a fractured and overly leveraged banking system. And here’s why that matters more than ever.

The Golden Illusion: When Your Gold Isn't Really Yours

Consider this: multiple clients have walked into reputable Swiss banks with statements claiming ownership of physical gold — only to discover that their gold wasn’t even there.

One client tried to transfer their gold to a private vault. But surprise: the bank had to first acquire the gold, because it never held it in the first place.
Another bought 400 oz bars in 2005. When inspected, the bars were cast in 2011. In other words, the original gold didn’t exist.
Others have been denied the right to even see or verify their holdings.

In many cases, customers were told they owned physical gold, but were in fact holding paper metals or pooled accounts with no direct ownership of specific bars.

Let that sink in: even if a Swiss bank says your gold is segregated, owned by you, and off their balance sheet — do you really know where it is?

The Great Denial: Why Banks Don’t Want You to Move Your Gold

Swiss banks — like others globally — are becoming increasingly resistant to clients moving their assets out. Some banks now demand that clients be physically present to initiate a transfer. Others outright refuse to release client gold, citing internal policy.

And while legal technicalities may protect your "ownership" on paper, when a crisis hits, you can’t access paper promises. You need real metal. In your name. Within your reach.

The Fatal Flaw: Banks Are Built to Serve Themselves, Not You

The global financial system today is a high-stakes casino. Bank management leverages capital hundreds of times over, using complex derivatives and risky strategies. When profits roll in, they’re privatized. When losses pile up, they’re socialized — meaning the public, depositors, or governments foot the bill.

Even Switzerland — home to the world’s most respected economy — isn’t immune. Its banking system is 5–6 times larger than the nation’s GDP. That’s exactly the same scale as Cyprus in 2013… right before it collapsed.

Our View: Gold Is Insurance, and Insurance Must Be Secure

We don’t buy gold for speculation. We buy gold because it is the ultimate insurance against financial catastrophe.

And insurance only works when it pays out. To ensure that, gold must be:

Privately owned in your name
Physically allocated, not pooled or paper
Stored securely in private vaults, outside of banks
Accessible directly by you

Large bars (400 oz or 1kg) may look impressive, but they’re impractical for crisis use. Smaller denominations — 1 oz or 100 grams — offer flexibility for barter or emergency liquidity.

Switzerland Is Still a Beacon of Stability — But Not Its Banks

We’ll say it again: the Swiss economy and political system are among the best-managed in the world. Tax reductions, direct democracy, limited government — these are rare and admirable traits.

But the Swiss banking model? It’s been compromised. The old values of conservative banking and personal liability are gone — replaced by the same greed and risk-taking that plagues Wall Street.

Don’t confuse Swiss quality of life with Swiss banking safety. They’re no longer the same.