UBS to Give 4,450 Names to U.S.

Swiss bank UBS AG will hand over some 4,450 names of U.S. account holders as part of a U.S.-Swiss tax-evasion settlement and investigation that could produce a total 10,000 account identities.UBS and the governments of the U.S. and Switzerland agreed on a final settlement last week, but the details weren't made public until Wednesday. UBS isn't expected to pay a monetary fine as part of the settlement.

Separately, the Swiss government said it is exiting its six-billion Swiss franc ($6.46 billion) investment in the bank, made as part of a rescue package the height of the financial crisis. It was lining up investors to buy its 332 million shares late Wednesday, and the sale was expected to be completed soon.

No details on the sale price were given. The government needs to sell the shares at around 13 francs each to break even on its investment, bankers say. The announcement came well after stock markets had closed. UBS shares shed 0.9% to 16.90 francs in Zurich.

As part of the tax settlement, U.S. tax authorities will file a treaty request with the Swiss government to obtain the data on the American UBS clients, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said on a conference call with reporters. The Swiss government will then direct UBS to turn over the account data to the IRS, the agency said.

Mr. Shulman said the legal agreement allowed the IRS to obtain substantially all the information it was interested in. link.....