Credit Suisse settles tax dispute with Germany
Credit Suisse has agreed to pay €150 million (SFr180.8 million) to settle tax evasion proceedings against its employees in Germany, the bank announced on Monday.
Switzerland’s second largest bank said in a statement that it welcomed the settlement which provided legal certainty and meant that a “complex and prolonged legal dispute” had been avoided.
The public prosecutor’s office in Düsseldorf will submit the relevant applications to close proceedings against Credit Suisse to the Düsseldorf District Court on Monday.
The deal follows the announcement of a tax treaty agreed between Switzerland and Germany in August which calls for Swiss banks to pay an upfront payment to Germany of SFr2 billion (€1.66 billion) to settle tax evasion disputes.
Credit Suisse said it had been preparing for changes in cross-border wealth management “for a long time” and pursues a strategy of only acquiring and managing assets in compliance with the relevant legislation and regulations.
In April, Zurich-based private bank Julius Bär reached a similar deal with German authorities, agreeing to a settlement of €50 million in order to avoid protracted legal proceedings over tax evasion cases.
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