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ZURICH – Shares in Swiss banking giant UBS opened at a historic low of under CHF 10 Tuesday amid a developing United States inquiry into whether the bank helped wealthy Americans evade taxes.
The stock, which fell sharply to close at CHF 10 Monday, slipped 0.40 percent to CHF 9.96 when trading started Tuesday.
The US government filed a lawsuit earlier in February to force the firm to reveal the identities of as many as 52,000 US customers who allegedly evaded taxes, barely a day after UBS admitted to tax fraud and temporarily agreed to pay USD 780 million (CHF 906 million) in settlement charges.
The Swiss bank’s shares rose after last 18 February’s settlement in the United States but fell again as the US government increased pressure on Thursday.
UBS is also struggling to recover from the US subprime home loan crisis, which led it to post an annual loss of USD 17 billion for 2008, the largest in Swiss corporate history.
[AFP / Expatica]