The Gnomes of Budapest

"It does not matter what your name is, and we do not look at your passport." A come-on from a discreet Swiss bank offering numbered accounts? Not exactly. This pledge of secrecy is part of a new advertising campaign in Europe to lure foreign money to a bank in Hungary.

After Poland's debt crisis flared in 1981, Western banks pulled out money that they had on deposit in Eastern Europe. Now the National Savings Bank in Budapest intends to get some of that cash back. Its strategy: to compete with the fabled Swiss banking gnomes for Western customers who want to hide their hoards. Switzerland last year became less of a haven because the government loosened its secrecy laws to allow banks, in some cases, to reveal information on accounts held by suspected criminals. The Hungarians, however, promise absolute confidentiality. Moreover, the bank pays 13.5% interest on one-year deposits, vs. 8.6% on a comparable account in Switzerland. Since the Hungarians began their service in November, some 2,000 Westerners have deposited more than $30 million. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.