UBS hearing in Fla. to gauge settlement progress between Swiss, US governments in tax case

Judge to get update on IRS lawsuit against UBS

MIAMI — A federal judge is due for an update on negotiations aimed at settling the government’s tax evasion lawsuit against Swiss bank UBS.

A hearing is scheduled Wednesday morning in Miami federal court so the judge can find out more about the chances of a deal from lawyers for the bank, the Swiss government and the U.S. Justice Department.

Without an agreement, a full-scale hearing is set to begin Monday on a U.S. effort to obtain the names of some 52,000 wealthy account holders believed to be hiding assets and dodging U.S. taxes. The Swiss and UBS insist they can’t turn over all the names without violating Switzerland’s bank secrecy laws, a position the U.S. rejects.

Switzerland’s foreign minister is to discuss the case later this week with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.