Swiss finance minister hints at agreement with US over bank accounts

A top Swiss government official has said a long-running dispute with America over the country's secretive banking system could be over by the time of the US presidential election. In an interview with the Basler Zeitung newspaper, finance minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf indicated that Washington was keen on ending the spat, which is part of an American attempt to crack down on wealthy citizens using Swiss banks to dodge taxes. Widmer-Schlumpf told the newspaper there could be an agreement to solve the problem before November's White House run-off. "My impression at the moment is that the US wants a solution by the elections. Both sides endeavour to find a solution in the foreseeable future," Widmer-Schlumpf said. At the moment 11 Swiss banks, including global brand names like Credit Suisse and Julius Baer, are being probed by US investigators who are seeking to stop rich Americans using offshore bank accounts to skip paying domestic taxes. The move has angered the Swiss, who want an agreement to keep US officials away from the rest of its powerful banking sector and head off potential prosecutions. Switzerland wants the investigation dropped as part of a deal in which the remainder of its 300 or so banks will be shielded in exchange for the payment of fines and the transfer of the names of thousands of US clients. But so far talks on the subject, including ones in April in Washington, have not produced any such deal. The US effort is being spearheaded by the Internal Revenue Service and the department of justice and has seen dozens of Swiss bankers and their private clients indicted in recent years. The use of Swiss bank accounts has even become a campaign issue in the US elections with frequent Democrat jibes aimed at Republican presumptive nominee Mitt Romney for his previous use of one. However, at the same time Republicans have sought to portray President Barack Obama as being anti-wealth with some Tea Party-linked conservatives often describing him as a socialist. But the US efforts have certainly unnerved the Swiss banking system, its powerful financiers and the many thousands of wealthy Americans who squirrel cash away in its shadowy accounts. The Swiss Bank Employees Association has even set up a telephone hotline for bankers who fear that they could now be arrested while travelling abroad due to their clients' tax evasion. The organisation said the service had proved popular since it had first opened up its lines last week.