Switzerland delays settling US tax dispute

Zurich - The Swiss government will consider ways to allow its banks to hand over information to US authorities either next Wednesday or a week later, a spokesperson said on Friday, later than previously indicated.

The government is under pressure to find a way to save its banks from criminal charges for helping wealthy Americans evade tax after parliament blocked a bill on Wednesday that would have allowed the banks to sidestep strict secrecy laws.

Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf had said the government could consider issuing an executive order on Friday to allow banks to comply with US demands, but the government spokesperson said her ministry was still working on the plans.

The spokesperson told a regular news conference that the finance ministry now planned to present a solution at the next cabinet meeting on Wednesday or a week later.

US authorities have more than a dozen banks under formal investigation, including Credit Suisse, Julius Baer, the Swiss arm of Britain's HSBC, privately held Pictet in Geneva and local government-backed Zuercher Kantonalbank and Basler Kantonalbank.