Swiss banks are to provide some of the information demanded by the US authorities as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged tax evasion.
According to a report by Swiss newspaper TagesAnzeiger, the Swiss are expected to hand over details surrounding the number of accounts and assets held by US citizens in the country.
The move follows calls from the US authorities for Swiss banks to give up information on suspected tax evaders.
Swiss financial institutions, including Credit Suisse, were thought to have been threatened with legal action if they did not comply with the request, Swiss newspapers SonntagsZeitung and the NXX am Sonntag reported.
However, Patrick Odier, chairman of the Swiss Banking Association (SWB), said that there needs to be a global agreement on taxation.
He told Swissinfo: “The solution must be globally applicable, definitive and in line with current Swiss laws. The US must recognise that legal certainty [of banking secrecy] is something that Switzerland must guarantee.”
“Bank client secrecy protects wealth and does not hide it, Mr Odier explained.
The latest report from TagesAnzeiger suggests that up to $30 billion could be held in accounts belonging to tens of thousands of Swiss bank clients.
By Jim Ottewill
