US and UBS may come to agreement at last

According to the New York Times, the U.S. Justice Department may drop a legal case aimed at forcing UBS AG to disclose the names of 52,000 wealthy American clients suspected of offshore tax evasion before July 13, when a short trial on the issue is expected to be held.

In order to avert criminal charges that would have put the bank`s existence at risk, as Swiss regulators said, UBS agreed in February to pay a $780 million fine and reveal the identity of about 300 of its U.S. clients.

Thus, U.S. authorities, fearing the agreement might divulge very few names, filed a civil lawsuit against UBS seeking information on 52,000 undeclared accounts.