FACTBOX: Five facts about Swiss private banks

Aug 19 - Switzerland will hand over details of about 4,450 bank accounts to U.S. authorities, settling a tax dispute over UBS which has threatened Swiss banking secrecy, the two governments said on Wednesday.

The dispute has been closely followed by the multi-trillion dollar global wealth management industry.

Here are five facts about the Swiss private banking industry:

* With around $2.5 trillion in asset under management, Switzerland is not only one of the biggest markets for wealth management, but also the private banking market with the longest tradition and strongest reputation.

* UBS and Credit Suisse are the biggest wealth managers as well as the largest banks in Switzerland.

UBS is the world's second-largest wealth manager behind Bank of America, with $1,393 billion of clients' assets under management. Credit Suisse has $612 billion.

The two account for more than 50 percent of the balance total of all banks in Switzerland.

* Swiss private banks attracted solid net inflows of 7 percent in 2007 and managed 2 percent in 2008 in spite of the global financial crisis. About 65 percent came from outside western Europe, showing the focus is shifting toward new markets such as the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.

* UBS and Credit Suisse started to move away from their traditional offshore private banking model by offering services to clients on their doorstep (onshore) at the end of the 1990s. As the importance of bank secrecy recedes, other banks have also started to open more and more branches outside Switzerland.

* Besides UBS and Credit Suisse, Switzerland had 62 private banks and 130 foreign banks who offered wealth management services. The majority of Switzerland's 24 cantonal banks are also active wealth managers.

(Sources: McKinsey, Swiss Bankers Association, Scorpio Partnership)

(Compiled by Lisa Jucca; editing by Simon Jessop)