US tax deal could prove deadly for small banks

Paying the price US tax deal could prove deadly for small banks by Matthew Allen, swissinfo.ch December 9, 2013 – 17:03 Big banks, which sparked the US crackdown by knowingly or recklessly harbouring untaxed assets, have the financial clout to absorb costs and fines. But regional institutions, making up one in four of all Swiss banks, may face a harsher ultimate penalty, despite shouldering a far lesser burden of guilt than larger rivals. In August, Switzerland agreed to US demands that force banks to come clean about their US clients. Under the terms of the deal, any bank found to have a single…