Swiss Bank Confirms U.S. Probe

ZURICH--NPB Neue Privat Bank AG, a private asset manager catering to wealthy clients, confirmed Monday it is being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department as part of an effort to track down Americans evading tax obligations.

An outside spokesman said Zurich-based Neue Privat Bank is cooperating with the U.S. probe in accordance with Swiss law but declined to offer details. The bank has also consulted with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, the country's financial regulator, the spokesman said.

A DOJ spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The DOJ investigation of Neue Privat Bank comes as part of an ongoing effort by U.S. authorities to track down undeclared assets held at Swiss banks by U.S. clients.

The DOJ has aggressively pursued banks suspected of facilitating tax evasion, and in 2009 Zurich-based UBS AG (UBS) entered into a deferred prosecution agreement under which the lender admitted helping U.S. clients avoid taxes. UBS also paid a large fine and handed over data on thousands of U.S. clients.

The DOJ now is investigating a number of other Swiss banks including Credit Suisse Group AG (CS) and Julius Baer Group AG (BAER.VX).

The Swiss and U.S. governments, meanwhile, have been moving toward a blanket agreement that could resolve remaining issues between American authorities and banks in the Alpine nation.

Neue Privat Bank, founded in 2001, reported having 1.3 billion Swiss francs ($1.4 billion) in assets under management as of the start of last year.

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