The agreements of five more Swiss banks with the U.S. Justice Department yesterday took the total of fines paid by banks in category II to more than $1 billion.
Bank J. Safra Sarasin agreed to pay $85.8 million, Coutts $78.5 million and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise $41.7 million under non-prosecution agreements, «Bloomberg News» reported yesterday. The U.S. government is nearing the end of a disclosure program, with 73 agreements reached, covering 75 banks.
BSI Holds Category II Record
Most settlements concerned banks in the second of three categories, which yielded more than $1 billion in fines to the U.S. Treasury. The largest settlement this year was BSI’s payment of $211 million. Credit Agricole’s Swiss unit agreed to pay $99.2 million and BNP Paribas’s Swiss unit reached a $59.8 million settlement, «Bloomberg News» said.
Gonet & Cie also agreed to pay $11.5 million, while Banque Cantonale du Valais will pay $2.3 million. Category II includes more than 100 banks.
Julius Baer's Turn?
Ten banks belong to category I, including UBS and Credit Suisse, Switzerland's largest. The U.S. Justice Department formally opened penal action against those institutes.
Credit Suisse already concluded its case and pleaded guilty in May 2014. It paid a fine amounting to $2.8 billion – UBS paid $780 million in 2009. Julius Baer, the Zurich-based private bank, is close to reaching an agreement, newspapers reported in mid-December. In the summer, Julius Baer put $350 million aside as cover for a fine.
The bank didn't comment the reports.
