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More Swiss banking news:

• Swiss National Bank and Finma supervisory body will work more closely
• UBS says IRS has eyes on 20 Swiss banks

Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Swiss bank UBS has told Swiss German newspaper Tages-Anzeiger that it sent letters to several Swiss politicians early in the week to encourage them to approve an agreement between Bern and Washington, DC that now goes to parliament for a vote.

The Swiss  high court in January insisted that the agreement under which the names of 4,450 clients of UBS should be revealed to the IRS, US tax authority, must have the approval of parliament. The bank has argued that to not supply the names would put at grave risk Switzerland’s role as an international financial centre.

UBS added in the letters that it sent out that the IRS now has some 20 Swiss banks targeted for investigation.

Central bank, regulator opt to continue with closer relationship

Friday 12 March the Swiss National Bank and Finma, the bank supervisory authority in Switzerland, jointly announced that they will work more closely together. The two signed a memorandum of understanding in 2007 but the economic and financial crises obliged them to cooperate more than usual and a new memorandum reflects this. They will set up a steering committee for greater joint strategy planning and will share some programmes. And “where there are common areas of interest, the MoU specifies that one institution may make applications to the other to take measures within its area of responsibilities and competences, or may request it to provide information,” says their press release.

Links to other sites: AP, SNB, TSR (Fre)