Financial Transparency Coalition

Details of a historic settlement between the U.S. and Swiss governments over secret accounts at UBS remain, well, secret. But the case marks the biggest assault yet against Swiss banking.

LONDON (Reuters) - More than 300 banks will be forced to give British tax authorities details about customers holding offshore bank accounts following a ruling Wednesday.

I have been chased by journalists (all from outside the UK) today asking what the UK decision to force offshore banks to disclose details of account holders to HM Revenue & Customs might mean. The Swiss are particularly keen. The honest answer is, of course, that we do not yet know. The most likely answer is that it depends on two things – first whether the banks appeal and succeed in doing so and second how far the UK is willing to go to enforce this.

LONDON -- In the latest development in the global crackdown on tax havens, two of the world's biggest offshore financial jurisdictions were scheduled on Thursday, to sign their 12th Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA), officially taking them off the "grey list" of offshore tax havens put together by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.