The Knights Templars and Switzerland

Could it be possible that the Knight Templars were the founders of Switzerland? There are a few connections between Switzerland and the Knights Templars.

The first central control of the area was introduced by the Germanic Hapsburg family, and especially Rudolph the First. After his death in 1291, a start was made to create the Swiss Confederation. This period of time conforms exactly to the persecution of the Templars in France. It is widely known that a lot of Templars escaped and fled to other countries. Looking at the fact that Switzerland is just to the east of France, this would seem to be a logical place for them to flee to.

The Templars were the ones to introduce banking to the world. They were lending money to a lot of kings in their days, getting only wealthier and wealthier (which is probably one of the reasons why Philip le Bel felt threatened by them). The thing Switzerland is mostly known for today, is it's banking too.

Finally, when looking at the flag of Switzerland, there's a white cross in the middle of the red flag, very much resembling the famous Templar Cross.

There is a book on this subject, "The Warriors and the Bankers" by Alan Butler and Stephen Dafoe. I haven't read anything of it yet, but was curious about your opinions on this subject.

Switzerland was created to refute Hapsburg power and before that it was a group of independant cantons. It was formed way before the destruction of the KTs.
The KT emblem was a red cross and not a white one.
The banking system was around a lot earlier than the KTs.

Switzerland became a haven for banks because of it's neutrality which was generally regarded to make it a safe haven.

It is believed that some Templars fled there but it is also believed that they fled to Portugal and Scotland.

Butler's book puts forward 7 reasons why he believes the KT set up Switzerland, but in my opinion, they are very poor and don't stand up to much scrutiny.

1. The founding of the embryonic Switzerland conforms exactly to the period when the Templars were being persecuted in France.

2. Switzerland is just to the east of France and would have been particularly easy for fleeing Templar brothers from the whole region of France to get to.

3. In the history of the first Swiss Cantons there are tales of white coated knights mysteriously appearing and helping the locals to gain their independence against foreign domination.

4. The Templars were big in banking, farming and engineering (of an early type). These same aspects can be seen as inimical to the commencement and gradual evolution of the separate states that would eventually be Switzerland.

5. Even the Swiss don't really know the ins and outs of their earliest history (or suggest that they don't.) They are famous for being secretive and we don't have to tell interested readers that this is something they share absolutely with the Templars.

6. The famous Templar Cross is incorporated into the flags of many of the Swiss Cantons. As are other emblems, such as keys and lambs, that were particularly important to the Knights Templar.

7. The Swiss were and are famous for their religious tolerance - and so were the Templars.

As you can see, all are open to question and most are very vague.