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Swiss Banks Entering U.S. Client Disclosure Program

Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. voluntary disclosure program for Swiss banks to avoid prosecution for fostering tax evasion through cross-border accounts held by U.S. clients divides banks into four categories.

About one third of Swiss banks have applied for category 2 of the program, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally said on Jan. 27, after the Department of Justice received 106 letters of intent by Dec. 31. Keneally didn’t name any banks seeking to take part.

The following table shows the banks that have declared their intentions by category, in reverse chronological order. The table shows where banks have announced a provision for a potential penalty and/or costs related to the program, and where it’s known that they have transfered data related to U.S. accounts to the U.S. authorities.

*T ================================================================B ank Cat.* Date Provisions Data ================================================================ CATEGORY 2 Deutsche Bank AG 2 10/14 ? ? Lloyds Banking Group Plc 2 07/14 ? ? Schroder & Co. Bank AG 2 03/14 £15m Yes Coutts & Co. AG 2 02/14 ? Yes Gonet & Cie. 2 01/14 ? Yes La Roche & Co. AG 2 01/14 ? ? Bordier & Cie. 2 01/14 ? ? BSI Group 2 01/14 Yes Yes Cie. Lombard, Odier SCA 2 12/13 ? Yes Rothschild Bank AG 2 12/13 ? Yes Union Bancaire Privee 2 12/13 ? ? EFG International AG 2 12/13 CHF36.5m Yes Banca dello Stato 2 12/13 ? ? Banque E. de Rothschild 2 12/13 ? ? Banque Cantonale Neuchatel. 2 12/13 ? ? Banque Cantonale du Valais 2 1213 ? ? Schaffhauser Kantonalbank 2 12/13 ? ? Hypothekarbank Lenzburg 2 12/13 Yes ? Banque Cantonale du Jura 2 12/13 ? ? Nidwaldner Kantonalbank 2 12/13 No ? Aargauische Kantonalbank 2 12/13 not announced Luzerner Kantonalbank AG 2 12/13 CHF5m Yes St. Galler Kantonalbank AG 2 12/13 Yes** ? Hyposwiss Private Bank 2 12/13 see St.Galler Graubuendner Kantonalbank 2 12/13 Yes ? Banque Cantonale Vaudoise 2 12/13 Yes** ? Piguet Galland & Cie SA 2 12/13 see BC Vaud. Banque Cantonale de Geneve 2 12/13 Yes** Yes Zuger Kantonalbank AG 2 12/13 CHF8m Yes PostFinance 2 12/13 No Yes Bank Linth LLB AG 2 12/13 CHF2.6m Yes Migros Bank AG 2 12/13 Yes Yes Bank Coop AG 2 12/13 CHF9m ? Berner Kantonalbank AG 2 12/13 ? Yes Valiant Holding AG 2 12/13 Yes Yes CATEGORY 3 or 4 Baloise Bank SoBa 3 12/13 N/A Cembra Money Bank AG 3 12/13 N/A Acrevis Bank AG 4 12/13 N/A Urner Kantonalbank 4 12/13 N/A AEK Bank 1826 4 12/13 N/A Obwaldner Kantonalbank 4 12/13 N/A Glarner Kantonalbank 4 12/13 N/A Thurgauer Kantonalbank 3 or 4 12/13 N/A Appenzeller Kantonalbank 4 12/13 N/A Schwyzer Kantonalbank 4 12/13 N/A Basellandschaftliche Kbnk 4 12/13 N/A DC Bank 4 12/13 N/A Raiffeisen Schweiz 3 or 4 12/13 N/A Regiobank Solothurn AG 4 12/13 N/A Vontobel Holding AG 3 12/13 N/A NOT PARTICIPATING VP Bank N/A 08/14 N/A Barclays Bank (Suisse) SA N/A 07/14 N/A B. Cant. de Fribourg N/A 07/14 N/A Banque Benedict Hentsch N/A 01/14 N/A Axion SWISS Bank SA N/A 12/13 N/A Globalance Bank AG N/A 12/13 N/A Alternative Bank Schweiz AG N/A 12/13 N/A ================================================================N OTES: Source: bank disclosures * Categories: (1) Banks under investigation. Credit Suisse Group AG paid $2.6 billion and pleaded guilty in a U.S. court in May. The following also subject of criminal probes: Bank Frey & Co. AG, Bank Hapoalim BM, Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM, Basler Kantonalbank, HSBC Holdings Plc’s Swiss unit, Julius Baer Group Ltd., Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG’s Swiss unit, Mizrahi- Tefahot Bank Ltd., NPB Neue Privat Bank AG, Pictet & Cie. Group SCA, Rahn & Bodmer Co., Zuercher Kantonalbank; (2) Banks with U.S. client accounts not already under investigation; they can apply to negotiate non-prosecution agreements and pay fines; (3) Banks that don’t have undeclared U.S. client accounts; they won’t pay fines and aim is to get non-target letters from the U.S.; (4) Banks with local clients (98% Swiss or EU) **St. Galler Kantonalbank made provisions in 2013 of CHF42m; that includes a provision for subsidiary Hyposwiss **Banque Cantonale Vaudoise didn’t define portion of 2013 provision of CHF43m that’s for U.S. tax matters; figure includes provision for subsidiary Piguet Galland **Banque Cantonale de Geneve didn’t define portion of 2013 provision of CHF25m that’s for U.S. tax matters *T

To contact the reporter on this story: Giles Broom in Geneva at gbroom@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jan Schwalbe at jschwalbe6@bloomberg.net Zoe Schneeweiss

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR