Financial Transparency Coalition

The Swiss bank UBS and United States federal prosecutors sought Sunday to delay a hearing scheduled for Monday so the two sides could try to settle their closely watched dispute over the release of names of wealthy American clients of the bank who are suspected of offshore tax evasion.

ZURICH (Dow Jones)--The Swiss and U.K. governments have reached a dual taxation agreement which will permit an exchange of information on tax matters in individual cases where a specific and justified request has been made, the Swiss Federal Department of Finance said Thursday.

Financial Times - Switzerland may have seen off Habsburg armies, but the American taxman might prove a greater threat to its sovereignty. US officials, filing a civil suit in a court in Florida, are seeking to force UBS, the Swiss bank, to reveal the names of American clients whose tax papers have not been properly filed. The Swiss government has made it clear that UBS would not be able to comply without breaching the Alpine country’s bank secrecy laws.

The FT has reported:

UBS shares outperformed the Swiss market strongly on Thursday as investors digested the latest twist in the battle of wills between the US and Switzerland over bank secrecy.

The Miami judge presiding over a crucial court hearing next Monday has called on the US authorities to specify how far they would go to force the Swiss bank to comply, should the court rule in their favour.

Alan Gold, the US district judge presiding over the case, late on Wednesday gave the US...