Attachment of bank assets of a debtor residing abroad at a Swiss bank

Facts

Bank X. AG, headquartered in Zurich, is the third-party debtor in the attachment and garnishment proceedings initiated by Banca A. S.p.A. or its legal successor Bank Y., headquartered in Italy, against [Z.], residing in Italy. The Debt Collection Office Zurich 1 attached, based on an attachment order, assets in accounts held by [Z.] and Panamanian companies at Bank X. AG's head office and/or its branch in Singapore. On December 22, 2011, the Debt Collection Office executed the garnishment of these claims.

Bank X. AG filed a debt collection complaint against the garnishment deed. The District Court of Zurich did not enter into the complaint, as it denied the Bank's standing to complain. The Bank then appealed to the High Court of the Canton of Zurich, which dismissed the complaint. Finally, Bank X. AG filed a civil law appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court confirmed that the claim of the debtor residing abroad against the Swiss bank, which arises from business relationships with its foreign branch, is deemed to be located at the domicile of the third-party debtor in Switzerland and is to be garnished there. This serves to avoid negative jurisdictional conflicts that may arise from the multiple locations of claims.

The criticism in the literature that the claim should instead be localized at…