ZURICH, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Swiss banking giant UBS, the
target of a U.S. investigation into possible tax fraud,
reiterated on Friday it would continue to co-operate with U.S.
and Swiss authorities.
The U.S. Department of Justice is looking into whether UBS
helped wealthy American clients conceal taxable assets in
Switzerland. Last week it indicted the bank's global wealth
management chief, and has asked Berne to access some of UBS's
offshore bank accounts.
"Client data are generally protected from disclosure under
Swiss law," Mark Branson, CFO for global wealth management at
UBS said in slides to a presentation.
"This is a matter between Swiss and U.S. government
authorities. UBS is not a part in these proceedings but has been
and will continue to fully support and assist the process."
The U.S. tax probe is hitting UBS at a time when the Swiss
bank is struggling to rebuild its reputation, after having made
nearly $49 billion in writedowns in the credit crisis, more than
any other European bank.
Its shares hit a fresh all-time low on Wednesday. They were
down 8.2 percent at 12.19 Swiss francs at 1620 GMT, while the
Dow Jones index of European stocks was down 7 percent.
The United States cannot access the Swiss-based data of U.S.
clients of UBS due to the country's strict bank privacy laws and
must request help from the Swiss government through a process
known as "administrative assistance."
Two lawyers told Reuters on Wednesday that Swiss tax
authorities have informed their two clients, both U.S. citizens,
of the intention of handing over the data. The decision could
hamper Swiss banking secrecy, the lawyers said.
Following the U.S. investigation, UBS announced in July it
was shutting down its U.S. cross-border business, through which
it offered Swiss accounts to U.S. clients.
"We are continuing with these plans," Branson said in the
presentation.
(Writing by Lisa Jucca; Editing by Rupert Winchester)
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