UBS reaffirms it will cooperate on U.S. tax probe

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)