tax evasion is only a civil offence, not requiring banks to notify taxing authorities. In Switzerland, there are many banks providing private banking services. Switzerland has remained neutral since the Congress of Vienna in 1815, including through two World Wars. After World War I, the former nobles of Austro-Hungarian Empire moved their assets to Switzerland for fear of confiscation by new governments. During World War II, many wealthy people, including Jewish families and institutions, moved their assets into Switzerland to protect them from Nazi Germany. However, this transfer of wealth into Switzerland had mixed and controversial results, as beneficiaries had difficulties retrieving their assets after the war. After World War II, in eastern Europe, assets were again moved into Switzerland for fear of confiscation by communist governments. Today, Switzerland remains the largest offshore center, with about 27 percent ($2.0 trillion) of global offshore wealth in 2009, according to Boston Consulting Group. Offshore wealth is defined as assets booked in a country where the investor has no legal residence or tax domicile. In England, private banks were established in the 17th century, in parallel with the development of agriculture, managing the assets of the royal family, nobility and the landed gentry. The United States has one of the largest private banking systems in the world, in part due to the 3.1 million HNWIs accounting for 28.6% of the global HNWIs population in 2010, according to the co-research of Capgemini and Merrill Lynch. Some American banks that specialize in private banking date back to the 19th century, such as U.S. Trust (founded in 1853) and Northern Trust (founded in 1889). Recent developments in private banking The internationalization of the economy, technological developments such as the Internet and mobile phones ensure that banks have to innovate their value proposition and look for new markets. For example, the growth of HNWIs is low in traditional private banking markets like Europe, compared to Asia where the number of millionaires has grown to 3.6 million. Banks also provide a sampling of the private banking services at a lower price point than traditional private banking. These are called premium banking or priority banking services. They are meant for mass-affluent customers. The accounts do not generate as much revenue as traditional private banking, but given the number of customers, they amount to a sizeable revenue to the bank. The products offered to premium banking customers are the same