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The article reports that investment banks in Europe and the U.S. are shifting toward business models that involve less risk. Contributing factors include tighter regulation and a reduction in securities-trading volume. Swiss bank authorities have recommended higher capital requirements than called for by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, and regulators in other nations could follow suit.

The article discusses implications of a Swiss court decision that ruled UBS AG need not release to the U.S. information on accounts held by U.S. citizens. The ruling contradicts a prior agreement under which UBS agreed to provide the U.S. Internal Revenue Service with the identities of over 4400 account holders.

The article reports that a settlement between the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Swiss government will result in UBS AG releasing to the IRS the names of U.S. citizens who hold over 4400 secret bank accounts at UBS. The IRS suspects tax evasion among these account holders, and indicated criminal prosecutions could begin within months.

The article reports that UBS AG and the U.S. and Swiss governments have reached settlement of an investigation involving allegations by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that UBS was helping U.S. account holders evade taxes. Terms of the deal allow UBS clients to appeal to a Swiss tribunal before their information is released to the U.S. government.

The article reports that the U.S. and Swiss governments, along with UBS AG are in negotiations to settle a case involving alleged tax evasion that could result in UBS disclosing the names of some of its U.S. account holders. The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to obtain access to over 50,000 accounts, although compromise could result in disclosure of some lesser number.

The article reports that the Swiss bank UBS AG has agreed to turn over the names of some 250 account holders to U.S. prosecutors as part of a $780 million settlement of a case charging the bank with aiding tax evasion by depositors. This is the first time Swiss regulators have allowed a bank to reveal account holders' identities, which have been kept secret though centuries of tradition.

The article reports on a January 2008 announcement from the Swiss bank UBS AG. In the announcement the bank indicated that its 2007 losses from involvement with subprime mortgages will be $4 billion more than it had previously thought, and that it would take its third writedown in four months, which would bring the financial total of its writedowns to $18.4 billion for 2007.

The article focuses on the December decision of the Swiss bank UBS to write down its subprime mortgage investments by $10 billion more than it had planned, and on the role the ABX index played in the decision. Prior to making the decision the bank looked to the index, which tracks the value of securities backed by subprime home loans, to see whether it should take the additional writedown.

The article focuses on a $10 billion write down which was seen at the Swiss bank UBS as a result of its involvement with subprime mortgage loans, and on an $11.5 billion bailout which the bank received from the government investment arm of Singapore and an unnamed Middle Eastern investor. Concerns about the financial status of other banks which were raised after the announcement of the write down and bailout are discussed.

The article reports on a corporate turnaround which is being attempted at the Swiss bank UBS AG by its chief executive Marcel Rohner, following an announcement from the bank which indicated that it was facing a 2007 third quarter loss of as much as $687 million as a result of its involvement in investments linked to U.S. mortgages.

The article reports that the parliament in Switzerland has approved a law that will make it possible for the Swiss government to legally provide the U.S. government with information on alleged U.S. tax evaders with Swiss bank accounts.

The article reports on an indictment in the Swiss tax-evasion investigation involving UBS AG which named former UBS banker Hansruedi Schumacher and Swiss tax lawyer Matthias Rickenbach in the charges. In the indictment filed in a federal court in Miami, Florida on August 20, 2009, Schumacher and Rickenbach were charged with helping businessmen Jeffrey P. Chernick and John McCarthy set up structures in Hong Kong, China in order to conceal U.S. income and the financial transactions in UBS.

The article focuses on the international implications of the settlement between the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and UBS AG which forces the Swiss bank to disclose the identities behind 4,450 secret accounts. Swiss banking officials regard the settlement as a diplomatic success as opposed to what many hails as a victory for U.S. tax authorities. Also noted is the plan of Switzerland to adopt the standards on taxation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The article reports on the settlement negotiation between UBS AG and the U.S. and Swiss governments in August 2009 in an effort to create a pact that would abolish Swiss bank secrecy. It was noted that all parties are trying to establish a deal that will lead UBS to provide client information on accounts related to U.S. citizens. According to some lawyers, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is attempting to determine the identities of U.S. citizens related to 52,000 accounts.

The article reports that the U.S. Justice Department has reached a settlement with UBS AG and the Swiss government concerning an investigation into possible tax evasion by U.S. citizens with accounts at UBS. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has sought the identities of tens of thousands of such account holders.

The article reports on the guilty plea entered into by businessman Jeffrey P. Chernick on July 28, 2009 to allegation of filing a false tax return and his admission about his hidden Swiss bank accounts which total over 8 million U.S. dollars. It states the intention of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to gain access to accounts held at UBS while conducting probe on possible tax evasion by clients. Court documents revealed that Chernick established his firm in Hong Kong, China and opened foreign bank accounts to hide his commissions from the IRS.

This article reports on the move by UBS AG to cite Swiss privacy law in its court filing to stave off the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) efforts to gain access to information about U.S. clients. UBS AG submitted its stand in a court filing in Miami, Florida. The U.S. Department of Justice has sued UBS to enforce the summons from IRS on information about the bank's U.S. clients. The details of the case are presented.

The article announces that chairman Peter Kurer of UBS AG will be replaced by former Swiss Finance Minister Kaspar Villiger in 2009.

The article reports on the protection of UBS AG employees from the U.S. request of information on the identities of its 52,000 account holders as part of the tax-evasion inquiry of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under the Swiss law. UBS said that the U.S. ignores the Swiss law and its sovereignty in response to lawsuit it filed against the bank. It added that the request of IRS would require rewriting of tax treaties between the two countries. U.S. authorities noted that U.S. taxpayers used secretive Swiss bank accounts to evade U.S. taxes.

The article discusses the highlights of a panel discussion on investments held during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. According to Howard Lutnick, chief of Cantor Fitzgerald, investors are remaining on the sidelines eyeing assets. On the other hand, Steve Schwarzman of Blackstone anticipates distressed loan bargains.

The article reports on the efforts by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his rival, Conservative leader David Cameron, in developing solutions for banks and the economy during the Davos, Switzerland meeting. According to Brown, he is working on something called Business 20, comprised of multinational companies. On the other hand, Cameron talked with Stephen Green of HSBC Holdings PLC.

The article reports on the absence of several top executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January 2009 as the financial crisis takes its toll on the major finance houses. Among those who pulled out of the meeting were Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs Group, Vikram Pandit of Citigroup and Robert E. Diamond of Barclays. However, a spokesman for the forum stated that the attendance on the event increased, at a record 2,600.

The article reports that private bank Union Bancaire Privee of Switzerland has several funds that invested money with Bernard Madoff, who stands accused of running a Ponzi scheme that cost investors billions of dollars. Union Bancaire claims it too is a victim of fraud, although the circumstances call into question whether services provided by private banks are worth the steep fees they charge.

The article reports that Credit Suisse Group lost three billion Swiss francs in two months and will fire 5,300 employees, with two-thirds of the job cuts to be made at Credit Suisse's investment bank. The bank's decision to reduce its work force will cut annual costs amounting to two billion francs. Banks are closing businesses that traded in complex credit securities. They are now focusing on less risky areas such as stocks, computerized trading, interest rates, currencies and financial consulting.

The article focuses on UBS AG, which is facing U.S. investigations into allegations that it helped its American clients evade taxes. In an effort to improve its reputation, UBS AG disclosed some Swiss-based private bankers will stop offering American clients Swiss bank accounts and other services. Those clients will be asked to use U.S.-based accounts or UBS's international units such as Swiss Financial Advisors, based in Zurich, or Wealth Management International, based in Hong Kong which are registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The article reports on the write-down for investment tied to U.S. subprime holdings by UBS AG of Switzerland which is reportedly one of the biggest since the financial storm of 2007. UBS which has already cut 1,400 jobs and capped executive bonuses asked for patience among investors and explained it had applied a more conservative valuation method for its subprime assets when it took a US$4.4bn writedown. The writedown was an effort to end the uncertainties surrounding the financial health of the bank to avoid the loss of confidence of clients.

Reports that former HealthSouth Chief Financial Officer Michael D. Martin confessed to lawyers that he told a top banker at Zurich's UBS AG about HealthSouth's accounting fraud, in which he participated. Allegations that Martin also asked the banker to help keep the fraud unexposed by scuttling a planned acquisition by HealthSouth; How the banker agreed to dissuade the chief executive of HealthSouth from doing the deal; How this information will augment the scandal; Consequences.