Swiss authorities have urged banks to take part in the Justice Department disclosure program to avoid indictments. The financial watchdog Finma set a deadline of yesterday for banks to inform the regulator whether they intend to take part.
“We are satisfied with the response,” Tobias Lux, a Finma spokesman in Bern, Switzerland said by phone. “Most of the banks have told Finma about their decision. Some banks will follow suit soon. We are now going to analyze the responses.”
Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told the Swiss Parliament yesterday the government is “convinced” the measure will help resolve the tax dispute that affects any bank with a U.S. undeclared client in the last five years.
Berner Kantonalbank AG will enter category two, even though it only manages 0.2 percent of assets for clients domiciled in the U.S., the Bern-based bank said today. The company “never sought to do business with American clients,” Chief Executive Officer Hanspeter Ruefenacht said in an e-mailed statement.
Valiant Holding AG, a bank created when Swiss regional lenders combined in 1997, will also enter category two as it can’t rule out some American clients didn’t declare accounts, the company said yesterday.