ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss bank Credit Suisse is taking steps to change its relationship with U.S. clients in view of new, stricter rules on the taxation of U.S. residents' assets abroad, Swiss paper Sonntag said on Sunday.
Mindful of the problems that rival UBS is facing in the United States, Credit Suisse is writing to its U.S. clients holding Swiss accounts asking them to sign a form -- the so-called W9 form -- that would reveal them to U.S. tax authorities, the newspaper said.
UBS is at the center of an high-profile U.S. investigation that alleges that the Swiss bank has helped rich Americans to hide money away from the taxman in Swiss accounts. UBS said last year it would stop offering offshore services to U.S. citizens.
Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-largest bank behind UBS, wants to avoid at all costs to run into similar problems and is taking steps to increase transparency already now.
Up until now, there is no disclosure requirement for U.S. clients of foreign banks that do not hold U.S. securities under the so-called Qualified Intermediary (QI) agreement.
But U.S. tax authorities are planning to toughen up the agreement and Credit Suisse is taking steps ahead of the new rules, the paper said.
Credit Suisse spokesman Jan Vonder Muehll said the bank "does not comment on the relationship with clients."
He added that Credit Suisse was fully compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.
"As of today, there is no procedure against Credit Suisse," Chief Executive Brady Dougan told Swiss newspaper Blick am Sonntag in an interview published on Sunday when asked about a possible widening of the UBS tax probe to other non-U.S. banks.
"Credit Suisse is not aware of any tax investigation in the United States against the bank," he reiterated.
A draft of the new QI agreement was published toward the end of last year. The organization of Swiss private bankers has criticized the proposed new rules and said in January the new rules prompt them to stop doing business with U.S. clients.
(Writing by Lisa Jucca; Editing by Hans Peters)
