Settlement considered possible in UBS-US case
Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz says a deal between UBS and United States authorities seeking the release of account-holder data may be coming.
UBS is facing a case in the US aimed at forcing it to disclose information on 52,000 wealthy American clients.
“I can confirm that efforts are underway,” Merz told Swiss radio while in Berlin for a meeting of the Organisation for Co-operation and Economic Development. He added he is “strongly convinced” that the problem can be and must be solved.
Merz’s comments follow a report in Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times. It quotes an anonymous American official as saying the US Justice Department might drop the case against UBS.
According to the report, Swiss government officials may hand over the files of UBS clients who had submitted legal papers with Swiss courts to contest the Justice Department’s lawsuit. In doing so, the bank would not violate Swiss banking laws. US authorities would drop the case entirely.
The deal could happen before the matter goes before a US District Court on July 13, but the Justice Department denied late on Tuesday that it is considering dropping the case.
UBS stocks reacted warmly to the rumours and jumped four per cent to SFr14.37 ($13.40) a share in the late afternoon from a daily low of SFr13.69 shortly after the market opened.
swissinfo.ch and agencies
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.