UBS 'not giving more names to US'

Swiss banking giant UBS has said it will not reveal any more names of the 52,000 US clients suspected of tax evasion to the US government.

UBS official Mark Branson also told a Senate subcommittee hearing: "We deeply regret our breaches of US laws."

The bank has turned over about 300 names so far, said Senator Carl Levin.

Switzerland recognizes as a crime only tax fraud, but not tax evasion

Earlier, it was announced that UBS chairman Peter Kurer would step down after just one year in the job - a year in which UBS reported record losses.

New head

Mr Kurer will be replaced by former Swiss Finance Minister Kaspar Villiger in April, in a move that has been widely welcomed by the markets.

At the end of last month, the bank also appointed a new chief executive.

Peter Kurer became chairman just as the credit crunch was about to strike

UBS lost 19.7bn Swiss francs ($16.7bn; £11.9bn) in 2008, largely because of the US sub-prime mortgage crisis that sparked the global economic downturn.

While Mr Kurer is not being blamed for the bank's heavy losses, he has come under scrutiny in the light of allegations that UBS helped wealthy US citizens evade tax, given his previous position as the bank's chief legal officer.

Mr Kurer has said UBS accepted "full responsibility" for helping its US clients hide assets from the Internal Revenue Service.

Last month UBS agreed to pay $780m to the US government to settle allegations that it had defrauded US tax authorities, after being accused of conspiring to create sham accounts to hide clients' assets.

'Fullest extent possible'

Switzerland, which has strict legislation on bank secrecy, recognises as a crime only tax fraud, but not tax evasion.

Mr Branson, the chief financial officer of the bank's global wealth management and Swiss bank division in Zurich, told US lawmakers: "UBS cannot disclose information to the IRS [Internal Revenue Service] that would put its employees at serious risk of criminal prosecution under Swiss law."

He urged to resolve the dispute "through diplomatic discussions".

"The IRS is attempting to resolve this diplomatic dispute in a courtroom, which is neither productive, nor proper," said Mr Branson.

Senator Levin said at the hearing: "The rest of the world is getting fed up with offshore tax havens that turn a blind eye to tax evasion and allow their financial institutions, lawyers, accountants, and others to profit from tax dodging."

It is estimated that the US government loses $100bn in revenues every year because of tax havens.