Credit Suisse acts on U.S. offshore clients: report

[Joanne98]

Source: Reuters


ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss bank Credit Suisse is taking steps to change its relationship with U.S. clients in view of new, stricter rules on the taxation of U.S. residents' assets abroad, Swiss paper Sonntag said on Sunday.

Mindful of the problems that rival UBS is facing in the United States, Credit Suisse is writing to its U.S. clients holding Swiss accounts asking them to sign a form -- the so-called W9 form -- that would reveal them to U.S. tax authorities, the newspaper said.

UBS is at the center of an high-profile U.S. investigation that alleges that the Swiss bank has helped rich Americans to hide money away from the taxman in Swiss accounts. UBS said last year it would stop offering offshore services to U.S. citizens.

Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-largest bank behind UBS, wants to avoid at all costs to run into similar problems and is taking steps to increase transparency already now.

Up until now, there is no disclosure requirement for U.S. clients of foreign banks that do not hold U.S. securities under the so-called Qualified Intermediary (QI) agreement.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE51E0JR20090215