Swiss Banking News: July 2008

21.07.2008 During a recent congressional hearing on overseas tax-dodging, UBS announced shutting down all private banking accounts held by the residents of the United States. This was decided as it emerged in a recent report unveiled at the hearing that a considerable number of wealthy US citizens are avoiding taxes by holding their assets in Switzerland's offshore accounts.
Mark Branson, the chief financial officer for UBS Global Wealth Management and Business Banking, said that 80 000 employees were alarmed by reports of misconduct. He stated that "such misconduct does not belong in UBS and that the firm's ethics match their own".
According to estimations, as a result of schemes concealing assets from the IRS in offshore accounts, each year the US Treasury loses up to USD 100 billion in tax payments.