They were housed at a time up to 18 billion

The veil finally rose yesterday on the historic compromise found by the Switzerland and the United States in the case of tax evasion bane UBS across the Atlantic. This agreement to bury the hatchet between Swiss banking giant and the powerful us IRS tax administration should spare the Swiss banking secrecy without compromising the fight against fraud and tax havens, a priority of the Obama administration. The intervention of diplomacy to formally sign an agreement by which no one loses face to face. Side American first of all, the hunting is provided (see below). The IRS will present a request for administrative assistance under the convention of double taxation between the Switzerland and the United States which will focus on some 4.450 accounts in UBS U.S. customers Switzerland, according to estimates by the two parties. They were housed at a time up to $ 18 billion.

But the objective of the IRS seem to obtain time of information about 10,000 accounts, through voluntary reporting open until September 23, the instructions given by UBS clients to provide the information to the IRS and the agreement of February which suspended criminal proceedings upon the delivery of some 250 names. The IRS also refused to confirm that its original purpose was to 52,000 accounts, when she was assigned the Bank civil in Federal Court in Miami. It is especially the largest of them.

On the side of Switzerland, then, can continue to argue that banking secrecy is not reduced to nil. The transmission of names will be done by a legal traditional route. The Federal Administration of contributions (AFC) will decide which accounts should be disclosed to the IRS and those decisions will be subject to legal action. What prevent the "fishing expedition" applications too vague information. "An important task is resolved." "It is the largest administrative assistance that the Switzerland has never had to deal with," according to the President of the Confederation Hans - Rudolf Merz. He also noted that "the secrecy of the Switzerland is completely preserved" and that the agreement "was valid only for UBS".

Impact on the reputation

For UBS, finally, the route emerges towards normalization. The Bank breathes to escape to the United States civil litigation, even if the US tax authorities will ensure that the mutual assistance procedure is well successful. According to the President of the Board of Directors Kaspar Villiger, "this agreement helps to resolve one of the most urgent problems of UBS."The Bank will not pay more, after the 780 million dollars in mid-February.

"The news is rather positive for UBS who suffered from two major problems, exposure to toxic assets that had been settled by the National Bank Switzerland and the American tax trial." "UBS can now concentrate on his trades and the reconstruction of its image," said Michel Juvet, Director of financial studies of the Swiss private bank Bordier.

Rest still unknown, the impact of this agreement on its reputation in the United States. It could still influence the image even if it avoids the spectre of a banking licence withdrawal. UBS employs as many employees in Switzerland in the US. The Chief Executive Oswald Gruebel said himself that there was still enormous work be done to stabilize the Bank lost 30 billion francs a year and a half, with more than 150 billion of outflows of capital, within the American case but also of the Madoff scandal and credit "sub-prime" crisis.

The Swiss authorities, who had saved the Bank from bankruptcy last winter, announced yesterday evening "to end immediately and the commitment of the Confederation in UBS fully."A decision which is a signal of the standardization of the establishment.