Gnomes Of Zurich

A slang (and somewhat derogatory) term for Swiss bankers that originated after World War II, when Zurich was the banking capital of the world and some folks were concerned that Swiss banks were taking measures to create or perpetuate European financial instability.

In the Harry Potter books and movies, Gringotts, the wizarding bank, is a super-secure and highly secretive institution run by goblins. The premise behind the “gnomes of Zurich” term is the same: Swiss banks tend to have strong privacy safeguards and somewhat secretive banking policies...and the goblins running them are also secretive, and possibly a little devious.