“We welcome that there’s a solution on the table,” Andres Luther, a spokesman for Credit Suisse, said by telephone from Zurich.
Framework Welcomed
Zuercher Kantonalbank, a Swiss cantonal bank that expects to pay a fine to U.S. authorities as part of a deferred prosecution agreement for its alleged role in helping Americans evade taxes, said it welcomed the legal framework proposed by the government. David Bruegger, a Zurich-based spokesman for HSBC Holdings Plc’s Swiss private bank, said the proposal could help resolve the U.S. matter.
Julius Baer fell 2.7 percent to 37.81 francs in Zurich trading, while Credit Suisse declined 2.8 percent to 27.84 francs. The 40-company Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index dropped 1.5 percent.
The agreement may lead to total fines of as much as 10 billion Swiss francs ($10.3 billion), Tages-Anzeiger reported earlier today.
“We haven’t got an agreement about the level of a payment,” said Widmer-Schlumpf.
Political Opposition
The size of the fine will be important for Switzerland’s financial centers, said the Basel-based Swiss Bankers Association, which represents more than 300 banks. The association said it was “astonished that no information was given on the program the U.S. will offer to Swiss banks.”
Two of the four biggest political parties in Parliament -- the Swiss People’s Party and the Socialist Party -- said they will oppose the deal, while the Christian Democratic Party said it will support the proposal.
“The government is taking a big risk and is fundamentally contradicting its previous plans on resolving the dispute with the U.S.,” the Swiss People’s Party said in an e-mailed statement. “The Americans are dictating all the terms.”