Switzerland Orders UBS to Hand Over More Data
July 05 2016 - 4:20AM
Dow Jones News
ZURICH—Switzerland's tax authority has ordered UBS Group AG to
hand over identifying information about current and former French
clients, as the Swiss bank continues to grapple with scrutiny of
its European customers
Zurich-based UBS said on Tuesday that it received the disclosure
order from the Swiss Federal Tax Administration following an
assistance request from French tax authorities.
The French authorities made their request based on information
received from counterparts in Germany, who had seized
client-related data from UBS during their own tax-related
investigations, UBS said. The request is based on data from 2006
and 2008, the bank said.
UBS said it expects that an unspecified number of additional
countries will make similar requests for client data, also based on
information shared with them by the German authorities.
It wasn't immediately clear how many clients would be affected
by the French request, or by similar requests made by other
countries in the future.
UBS, like other Swiss banks, has made efforts in recent years to
compel European clients to prove that they have declared the funds
in accounts shielded by Swiss bank secrecy to tax authorities in
their home countries, or to close the accounts. UBS said on Tuesday
that many of the accounts tied to the French request for data have
been closed.
The issue continues to haunt the banks. UBS has faced related
legal issues in France, Germany, and Belgium, while its Swiss rival
Credit Suisse Group AG has been the subject of scrutiny in
Italy.
UBS and Credit Suisse have reported billions of dollars in asset
outflows in recent years, as European clients declare their
accounts to authorities in their home countries, and pay related
taxes.
UBS said in its statement on Tuesday that it has expressed
concerns to Swiss authorities that the French information request
is based on data and a justification that "lack the required
specificity."
The bank said it plans to have the request evaluated by a Swiss
court.
Write to John Letzing at john.letzing@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 05, 2016 04:05 ET (08:05 GMT)
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