ZURICH—Julius Baer Group AG said it is setting aside $350
million to settle a U.S. Justice Department investigation of the
Swiss bank's alleged role in helping Americans evade taxes,
indicating that a resolution of the long-standing probe may be at
hand.
Zurich-based Julius Baer said in a statement on Tuesday that the
amount reflects the current state of the bank's talks with the
Justice Department, which have "now sufficiently advanced" to
enable a preliminary assessment.
The provision will be charged to the bank's half-year results,
which are expected to be reported next month.
Julius Baer is one of a handful of Swiss banks that remain under
Justice Department investigation for allegedly aiding U.S. tax
evasion by providing undeclared accounts once shielded behind
Switzerland's bank secrecy laws. Last year, larger rival Credit
Suisse Group AG settled its related probe by pleading guilty to
conspiring to aid tax evasion and agreeing to pay $2.6 billion.
Until Tuesday's announcement, Julius Baer had said it lacked
sufficient insight from its talks with the Justice Department to
provision for a settlement.
Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Julius Baer
could settle the investigation within two months, and may face a
lightened penalty as a result of the bank's thwarted bid to
voluntarily disclose its issues with undeclared U.S. accounts to
the Justice Department in 2009. Julius Baer was prevented from
making that disclosure by Switzerland's financial regulator, known
as Finma.
The bank's six-year-old effort to step forward may be reflected
in a statement of facts likely to be filed alongside the
forthcoming settlement, people familiar with the matter have
said.
Last February, analysts polled by a research firm employed by
Julius Baer estimated that the bank would face a settlement of
between 300 million Swiss francs ($321 million) and 850 million
Swiss francs.
Julius Baer said on Tuesday that there is no "defined timetable"
for a settlement. The Justice Department's investigation began in
2011.
Separate from those Swiss banks under U.S. investigation, dozens
of other Swiss banks have entered a Justice Department
self-reporting program for undeclared American accounts.
Roughly a dozen Swiss banks have now completed their
participation in that program, which was unveiled in 2013 and
offers them guarantees that they won't be criminally prosecuted for
aiding tax evasion.
Write to John Letzing at john.letzing@wsj.com
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