US pressure mounts on Swiss bank
Switzerland's largest bank, UBS, came under attack in a United States Senate subcommittee on Wednesday for allegedly helping wealthy Americans evade tax.
The subcommittee on investigations issued a report putting the total cost of the abuses aided by foreign banks at about $100 billion (SFr101 billion) per year.
The chief targets of the report were UBS, and Liechtenstein’s LGT group, which is owned by the ruling family of the principality.
The report recommended a range of reforms, including stricter regulations governing foreign banks and harsher penalties for financial institutions which did not provide the US revenue services with details of the accounts held by US clients.
The subcommittee is to hold hearings on the matter on Thursday. Those summoned to appear include Mark Branson, chief financial officer, and Martin Liechti, head of UBS’s wealth management Americas international business.
UBS has said it is cooperating with investigations in the US and Switzerland and will disclose records of clients who may have broken tax laws.
UBS has an estimated $18 billion in assets from 19,000 accounts held by US clients in Switzerland.
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