Switzerland's wealth managers are sniffing out new business in commodity-producing countries such as Russia, whose wealth has grown alongside high prices for oil, minerals and foods, a Swiss banking executive said on Monday.

Pierre Mirabaud, chairman of the Swiss Banking Association, said the commodities boom had generated "several layers of new richness" in many places, pointing to oil-exporting Persian Gulf nations as an example.

"Commodity producers are for Swiss banks a new source of clients," he told a news conference.

Many banks in Switzerland are also generating income by offering trade finance services for oil and commodities trading houses, which have congregated in large numbers in Geneva as well as Zug, near Zurich, Mirabaud said.

It is simplistic and incorrect to conclude that traders' speculation is at fault for the surging costs of food staples such as wheat, Mirabaud said, attributing the higher prices to fast economic growth in emerging markets.

"I oppose the idea that speculative funds are responsible for the food price increases. They are not responsible for the direction those prices are taking," he said, suggesting that many politicians are looking for scapegoats for the food crisis.

"It is very easy to say that it is a hedge fund in New York or London that is responsible," he said.

Banking makes up nearly 15 percent of Switzerland's gross domestic product, accounting for about 200,000 jobs. Its private banks manage 3 billion Swiss francs ($2.8 billion) on behalf of many of the world's wealthiest people.

Mirabaud caused a stir in February when he compared methods used by German authorities in pursuing tax evaders with those of the Nazi-era Gestapo secret police, referring to a far-reaching investigation of people suspected of hiding money in Liechtenstein banks.

Media reports had said that Germany's intelligence services had obtained data on the Liechtenstein bank account holders which was subsequently handed over to German prosecutors.

The senior partner of Mirabaud & Cie, a Geneva-based private bank, did not repeat those comments on Monday but stressed that the German and European Union financial authorities ought to be mindful of their jurisdiction.

It was not the job of Swiss banks to check whether their clients are paying taxes at home, Mirabaud said. "We are in the service industry. We are not a tax authority and we are not a police authority," he told the news conference. "That is not our responsibility."

Mirabaud said wealthy people are compelled to shield their money when tax rates are disproportionately or unfairly onerous.

"Countries which worry about tax evasion by their citizens should have a good think about the way they tax their people," he said. "If the tax burden is too high there will always be tax evasion." (Editing by Jonathan Lynn and Greg Mahlich)