Swiss Government to Study UBS French Client Data Ruling

(Bloomberg) -- Switzerland’s Federal Department of Finance said it has taken note of the Swiss Supreme Court ruling Friday ordering data of UBS Group AG to be shared with French authorities, but will wait for a full written decision on the controversial case before weighing in.

The ministry will carry out a “detailed analysis once the written grounds are available,” the FDF said in a statement on its website.

The court decision gives French tax authorities the right to receive details on thousands of UBS clients in a ruling that will hurt UBS and its rivals’ ability to shield information from foreign regulators.

But in a boost for UBS, the Swiss Supreme Court said Friday in a 3-2 decision that they asked for and obtained an assurance that meant the information won’t be used as part of a pending tax case where the bank faces a $5 billion penalty. That sets up a likely showdown between Switzerland’s top judges and French prosecutors who are determined to not let UBS off the hook.

Swiss president and and head of the FDF Ueli Maurer said in the statement that Switzerland’s financial center meets international standards.

“The decision concerns administrative assistance in this specific case which dates back many years. Each future request will also be subject to a detailed examination as to whether the conditions for the transmission of data have been fully met,” Maurer said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andy Hoffman in Geneva at ahoffman31@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Herron at jherron9@bloomberg.net, Sara Marley, Abigail Moses

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