Gnomes of Zurich

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Gnomes of Zurich is a disparaging term for Swiss bankers.[1][2] Swiss bankers are popularly associated with extremely secretive policies, while gnomes in fairy tales live underground, in secret, counting their riches.[3][4] Zürich is the commercial centre of Switzerland.

  1. ^ "Switzerland: The Gnomes of Zurich". Time. 12 March 1965. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  2. ^ Oxford University Press (March 2014). A Dictionary of Finance and Banking. OUP Oxford. pp. 210–. ISBN 978-0-19-966493-1. An unflattering term applied to Swiss bankers and financiers, alluding to their secrecy and speculative activity.
  3. ^ Robert L. Kroon (27 February 2008). A Lifetime of News: Tales Of A Foreign Correspondent. Xlibris Corporation. pp. 153–. ISBN 978-1-4653-2202-9. At the time, Swiss bankers were seriously upset about the label 'Gnomes of Zurich,' stuck on them by Britain's Labour ... We got along well and the great banker took his time to dispel 'all those nonsensical fairy tales' about gnomes and such.
  4. ^ Christopher Hope (2008). The Garden of Bad Dreams and Other Stories. Atlantic. ISBN 978-1-84354-772-3. In the metaphysics of midgetry, gnomes are bucolic, elderly, fairy-tale creatures, sometimes associated with riches: as, say, the gnomes of Zurich. Dwarfs are less reliable, discomforting; they evoke sympathy but it is mixed with fear.