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Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva: Bloomberg.com reported on Friday that the former UBS AG private banker Bradley Birkenfeld had agreed to plead guilty in June in a U.S. tax evasion case, signaling that he is cooperating with a Justice Department’s investigation of the biggest Swiss bank. Birkenfeld had pleaded not guilty earlier this month after he was indicted with Mario Staggl of Liechtenstein, who is still a fugitive. Bloomberg also reported that the case was part of a growing U.S. investigation into whether UBS helped wealthy clients avoid paying taxes. In agreeing to plead guilty, Birkenfeld likely will help prosecutors and identify UBS customers who shielded assets to escape paying income taxes … (Source.)

This case is probably going to start a reassessment of the role of private banking, in particular Swiss private banking. Will the ‘Private account in Switzerland’ bear the same connotations and have the same implications in few years from now? In a note to clients, Richard Kleinbauer, CEO of RMK Research & Markets (a Switzerland-based research boutique), writes that this Bloomberg article suggests the external squeeze on Swiss private banking is irreversible. “Will rich Americans or rich Germans bring their money to Switzerland under these threats? What private bankers would market to these countries now – under ......................

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