The guilty plea was entered yesterday at a Virginia courtroom, marking the end of a four year investigation into advice given to some US clients of Credit Suisse’s Swiss banking entity, Credit Suisse AG.
Company chief executive Brady Dougan said: “We deeply regret the past misconduct that led to this settlement.
“The US cross-border matter represented the most significant and longstanding regulatory and litigation issue for Credit Suisse. Having this matter fully resolved is an important step forward for us.”
The bank’s financial settlement includes a $2bn payment to the US Department of Justice (including $196m for the Securities and Exchange Commission), with one third of this allocated to the Internal Revenue Service.
It also includes a $715m payment to the New York State Department of Financial Services and $100m to the Federal Reserve.
Problems at the bank first came to light in November 2011 when it revealed the Internal Revenue Service had made a request for information to the Swiss tax authority, which in turn contacted the bank in relation to some of its American clients with offshore private banking accounts.
Brady added the settlement would reduce the bank’s second quarter net income by CHF1.5bn.
