Bah! sucks. The Swiss don't want our money...
I disagree. It's all about money and cover story.
If you -want- and CH bank account, it depends on who you are, where you are from and what you bring to the table.
If you live in FR/DE/AT/IT it is very easy to get an account. If you life elsewhere you have to have a good cover story (and some money and a 'idea' of growing that money with the CH bank). *the world is in flux, the next crisis is on our doorsteps, you want a safe heaven for you money with a prudent and safe bank, ergo a swiss bank* Do not bull s**t to much. Make a list of your trier 1 and tier 2 banks. Spend a week in Switzerland, test your story with the Tier 2 banks, see what questions they have and answer those questions already in your pitch to the Tier 1 banks. (Make you look professional, it's what the Swiss like)
Do not focus on Zurich, but try local banks and branches of UBS/CS.
CA/Next, CH/FR/DE residents only.
The below banks are open to non-resident account openings (If you have less than 25K CHF no need to apply):
Schaffhauser Kantonalbank
CS
UBS
Glarner KB
http://www.hypobank.ch/BCJ
BCN
Saanenbank
Sparkasse Egelsberg (now Sparkasse Schwyz, donno their current status)
St Galler KB
Zuricher Landbank (not ZKB, they are arrogant assholes
)
You can also hop over to Germany and open a CH account at a German sparkasse. Cheap access to CH payment infra.
Giro swiss - Ihr Girokonto in Schweizer Franken - Sparkasse Hochrhein (e1,90)
https://www.sparkasse-loerrach.de/de/home/privatkunden/grenzgaenger.html
You need to make an appointment and visit them in person (no walk-ins, it is Germany!