(HSBA.L) HSBC Holdings PLC Buy/Sell

HONG KONG, Nov 19 (Reuters) - ICICI Bank, India's second-biggest lender, has lowered the spread range on its dollar bonds to 337.5-350 basis points (bps) over U.S. Treasuries after strong demand, a source close to the deal said on Friday.
The spread range was lowered from 350 bps above and a market source said the order book was over $4 billion.
The bond, due in March 2015, could raise up to $750 million and is expected to be priced in New York trading hours on Friday.
The offering is being arranged by BofA Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and HSBC.
The deal, which was preceded by a series of investor meetings, is rated BBB-minus by Standard & Poor's and Baa2 by Moody's Investors Service.

(Reporting by Umesh Desai; Editing by Chris Lewis) (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to newsfeedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) Keywords: ICICI BONDS (umesh.desai@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6935; Reuters Messaging: umesh.desai.reuters.com@reuters.net; )

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

RNS Number : 8066C HSBC Holdings PLC 20 November 2009

20 November 2009

PT BANK EKONOMI RAHARJA TBK

RESULTS FOR THE THIRD QUARTER ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2009 - HIGHLIGHTS

· Profit before tax for the nine months to 30 September 2009 was IDR359 billion (US$33 million), an increase of 55 per cent compared with IDR231 billion (US$25 million) for the same period in 2008.

· Operating income of IDR731 billion (US$68 million) for the nine months to 30 September 2009 increased by IDR192 billion (US$18 million), or 36 per cent, compared with the same period in 2008.

· Allowance for losses on loans and financing in the nine months to 30 September 2009 was IDR47 billion (US$4 million) compared with IDR52 billion (US$6 million) for the same period in 2008.

· The cost:efficiency ratio for the nine months to 30 September improved to 45 per cent from 48 per cent for the same period in 2008.

· Total assets of IDR21.2 trillion (US$2.2 billion) increased by IDR4 trillion (US$0.4 billion), or 23 per cent at 30 September 2009 compared with IDR17.2 trillion (US$1.8 billion) at 30 September 2008.

· The core capital ratio increased to 19 per cent at 30 September 2009 compared with 12 per cent at 30 September 2008.

Commentary

Bank Ekonomi reported profit before tax of IDR359 billion (US$33 million) for the nine months to 30 September 2009, an increase of 55 per cent on the same period in 2008.

Net interest income for the nine months to 30 September 2009 increased by 36 per cent, or IDR176 billion (US$16 million), to IDR660 billion (US$62 million). This was driven by higher yields.

Non interest income for the nine months to 30 September 2009 increased to IDR74 billion (US$7 million) up 34 per cent or IDR19 billion (US$1.7 million) compared to the same period in 2008. This mainly resulted from an increase in fees from treasury product and gain on foreign exchange of IDR11 billion (US$1 million), increase in account service fees of IDR2 billion (US$0.2 million), and a gain on the sale of fixed assets of IDR6 billion (US$0.6 million)

Operating expenses for the third quarter of 2009 were IDR375 billion (US$35 million), an increase of 21 per cent or IDR66 billion (US$6 million) compared to the same period in 2008. This was primarily due to increased staff costs and general and administrative expenses.

The cost: efficiency ratio for the nine months to 30 September 2009 improved to 45 per cent from 48 per cent in the same period in 2008 as income improved significantly over expense growth. The improvement in income was due to higher interest income as a result of higher yields.

The allowance for losses on loans and financing for the nine months to 30 September 2009 decreased to IDR47 billion (US$4 million) compared with IDR52 billion (US$6 million) for the same period in 2008. The decrease reflects the lower balances of customer loans and advances.

Total assets at 30 September 2009 increased by IDR4 trillion (US$0.4 billion), or 23 per cent, compared to 30 September 2008. Customer loans and advances of IDR8.6 trillion (US$0.9 billion) decreased by IDR962 billion (US$ 0.1 billion) or 10 per cent. This was due to lower trade and working capital financing activities. Customer deposits at 30 September 2009 rose to IDR18.6 trillion (US$1.9 billion) from IDR15.2 trillion (US$1.6 billion) for the same period in 2008.

Media enquiries to Lenggono S Hadi at lenggono.hadi@bankekonomi.co.id

Notes to editors:

1. Accounting standards

The figures quoted above have been prepared by PT Bank Ekonomi Raharja Tbk in accordance with the applicable approved accounting standards issued by the Indonesian Accounting Standards Board.

2. PT Bank Ekonomi Raharja Tbk (Bank Ekonomi)

Bank Ekonomi is a provider of commercial banking services in Indonesia with over 2,400 staff, 94 outlets and assets of approximately IDR21 trillion (US$2.2 billion) based on Indonesian GAAP at 30 September 2009. Bank Ekonomi was established in 1989 and is listed on the Indonesian stock exchange.

3. HSBC in Indonesia

HSBC has operated in Indonesia since 1884 and has 115 outlets spread across 10 major cities. HSBC is a leading provider of personal financial services, corporate and commercial banking, institutional banking, treasury capital markets and Amanah Syariah services in Indonesia. HSBC in Indonesia delivered profit before tax of US$80 million in the half year to 30 June 2009.

4. HSBC Holdings plc

HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 8,500 offices in 86 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,422 billion at 30 June 2009, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as 'the world's local bank'.

This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

MSCQKLFFKFBXFBX

HANOI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Vietnam's central bank said on Friday it had authorised the Vietnamese unit of ANZ Bank to issue and underwrite onshore bonds, the second fully foreign-owned bank after HSBC to be given that permission.
ANZ Bank Vietnam Ltd can expand its banking activities on the country's primary bond market following a State Bank of Vietnam directive issued on Thursday, the central bank said in a statement.
The Vietnamese unit of ANZ secured permission to operate as a fully foreign-owned bank in October 2008. The central bank gave HSBC Bank Vietnam Ltd permission to issue and underwrite bonds in June this year.

(Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by Alan Raybould)

((ho.minh@thomsonreuters.com; +844 3825 9623; Reuters

Messaging: ho.minh.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: VIETNAM ANZ/DEBT (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

By Huw Jones

LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog will have powers to claw back bank bonuses that breach globally agreed rules on remuneration and force hedge funds to provide data, a draft law published on Thursday showed.
The draft law's main provisions were announced by the government on Wednesday and enforce pledges Britain and other members of the G20 group of leading countries made this year to apply lessons from the credit crunch.
"The bill we are introducing today is central to the government's reform agenda that seeks to empower consumers and make sure that, in the future, taxpayers will not be called on to protect banks from the consequences of their actions," Britain's Finance Minister Alistair Darling said in a statement.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will have "information gathering powers extended to non-regulated firms, including hedge funds, where information is relevant to financial stability", the draft law says.
Hedge fund managers are already required to register and provide data. The European Union is adopting a law with similar provisions.
The FSA will have a new, explicit objective of helping to ensure financial stability, giving it a bigger role in monitoring and assessing risk that could destabilise the broader financial system -- a supervisory gap the credit crunch highlighted in many countries.
"The measures in the bill, particularly under the proposed financial stability objective, will give the FSA more powers to carry out its remit from parliament in a more effective manner," an FSA spokesman said.

BOE BACK ON TOP?
The opposition Conservative Party, tipped by pollsters to win the election due by June, has said it wants to abolish the FSA, saying its joint "tripartite" supervision of banks with the Bank of England and Treasury had failed.
"Instead we need to put the Bank of England back in charge because only central banks have the authority and the judgment that is needed," the party's treasury spokesman, George Osborne, said in the London Evening Standard newspaper.
Britain's financial services minister Paul Myners said there were no plans for tearing up existing pay contracts.
"That's an abrogation of legal contracts which governments should not contemplate," Myners told Sky News television.
"What we are saying is that going forward all contracts have to comply with the framework specified by the FSA, and if a bank were to offer a contract which the FSA regarded as reckless... then that contract could be voided and penalties could arise," Myners said.
He does not expect this to happen in practice and banks are keen on the provision as it will help them "manage better the greed they have been confronted" with.

FIRMS' FSA FEARS
Lawyers said firms will be able to get out of bonus payments by referring to regulatory obligations.
Paul Edmondson of law firm CMS Cameron McKenna said FSA powers on pay, living wills and enforcement won't be restricted to banks but apply to all authorised firms and insurers.
"Firms will be concerned about inappropriate read across from the banking crisis," Edmondson said.
The bill will also give the FSA powers to curb short-selling and require disclosure on short selling, a practice favoured by some hedge funds and blamed by policymakers for amplifying selloffs in bank shares at the height of the credit crunch.
Such measures have already been used by the FSA.
The watchdog will also have a duty to require firms to plan for their possible demise by drawing up "living wills" or recovery and resolution plans for a speedy wind down that avoids the need for taxpayer bailouts.
The G20 wants all major financial firms to draw up living wills by the end of 2010 and the FSA has already announced that several banks are taking part in a pilot scheme to complete first drafts of living wills in coming weeks.
The bill also contains provisions on pay in light of a UK government commissioned review by former top banker David Walker on how to strengthen corporate governance and make boards more accountable for a bank's activities.
The final version of the Walker Review is published on Nov. 26 but the government has already said it backs the findings of a preliminary version released this year.
There will also be a new Financial Services Compensation Scheme to compensate British customers of overseas financial firms. Britain had to step in to safeguard deposits held by UK customers of failing Icelandic banks.
For a Take A Look on financial regulation, click on

(Additional reporting by Avril Ormsby; Editing by Andy Bruce/Victoria Main) Keywords: BRITAIN FINANCIAL/ (Reuters messaging: huw.jones.reuters.com@reuters.net; + 44 207 542 3326; huw.jones@thomsonreuters.com)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

By Antonia van de Velde

BRUSSELS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Luxembourg's financial watchdog has ordered HSBC's Luxembourg fund services arm HSSL to tighten internal controls after the Herald fund for which it was custodian lost nearly $1 billion of client money to Wall Street fraudster Bernard Madoff.
In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday, Luxembourg regulator CSSF ordered HSBC Securities Services (Luxembourg) (HSSL) to complete a review of internal rules within three months to ensure that it fulfilled all the requirements of a depositary bank.
HSSL acted as depositary bank and custodian for the Herald (Lux) fund while Austria's Bank Medici had been 'sponsor' and investment manager of the fund.
The Herald fund faces claims by investors who are trying to recover the money they lost but the debate is still open on whether custodian banks should also be liable for any of the Madoff-related losses.
The CSSF did not specifically say that HSSL was deficient.
Investor activist group Deminor, which acts on behalf of clients who lost money in Luxembourg, says HSBC and Bank Medici failed to put the necessary control mechanisms and contractual safeguards in place when delegating their functions to Madoff.
The CSSF said it was for courts to decide whether HSSL was liable under a civil claim to compensate investors.
HSBC said it believed it had complied with all obligations as the depositary bank of Herald Lux and agreed with the CSSF that it was solely for civil courts to determine the outcome of the issue.
"HSBC continues to believe that it has good defences to any claims brought against it and will vigorously defend itself against any such claims," HSBC said in an emailed statement.

Earlier this year the regulator approved changes proposed by UBS's Luxembourg custodian bank, which was also exposed to the fraud by Madoff, who is serving a 150-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to the decades-long investment fraud of as much as $65 billion.
Total losses for clients who invested in two funds set up by UBS on behalf of clients amounted to around $1.7 billion at the end of September, UBS said in its financial report.
The CSSF also said the documents submitted to the regulator on three funds which were liquidated earlier this year did not contain any reference to Bernard Madoff Investment Securities (BMIS), rejecting claims that it had been aware of links before Madoff was arrested in December 2008.
"Between the launch of the various Sicav and the breakout of the Madoff affair in December 2008, the CSSF was never informed in a transparent manner, by the professionals involved, of the structure actually set in place nor of the role played in practice by BMIS at different levels of this structure," the CSSF said.

(Editing by Greg Mahlich) Keywords: HSBC LUXEMBOURG/MADOFF (antonia.vandevelde@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: antonia.vandevelde.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; +32 2 287 6810, fax +32 2 230 7710)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Top U.S. and European banks have lost more than $1 trillion on toxic assets and from bad loans since the start of 2007, and were expected to top $2.8 trillion from 2007-10 with roughly two thirds from loans and the remainder on securities, according to International Monetary Fund forecasts.

U.S. banks were expected to take a $1 trillion hit and European bank losses will reach $1.6 trillion, the IMF said at the end of September. It said U.S. banks were about 60 percent through their losses, but British and eurozone banks were only 40 percent through their writedowns.

Below is a list of estimated losses:

(in billions of dollars at current exchange rates)

Citigroup 29.1 63.4 21.8 $124.0
Wachovia Corp* 4.0 73.4 $77.4
Bank of America 12.1 29.2 27.0 $68.3
Merrill Lynch** 25.1 38.6 $63.7
HSBC 19.3 30.3 13.9 $63.5
Lloyds& 6.8 28.9 22.3 $58.0
UBS 50.6 1.7 $52.3
Royal Bk Scotland 7.0 23.5 19.6 $50.1
Fannie Mae 4.7 26.9 15.4 $47.0
Freddie Mac 5.2 24.4 12.8 $42.4
Washington Mutual*** 5.1 36.7 $41.8
Barclays 7.0 16.5 10.3 $33.8
JPMorgan Chase 4.5 10.2 16.8 $31.5
Lehman Brothers**** 12.5 14.0 $26.5
Santander 4.8 8.3 10.6 $23.7
Commerzbank/Dresdner 3.9 13.3 4.5 $22.3
Morgan Stanley 10.3 10.1 1.7 $22.1
Wells Fargo 3.5 8.7 8.2 $20.4
Deutsche Bank 4.0 11.2 3.1 $18.3
Credit Suisse 3.5 11.9 1.9 $17.3
IKB && $14.7
National City***** $14.0
BNP Paribas+ 2.4 8.0 3.4 $13.8
BBVA 2.7 4.2 5.5 $12.4
UniCredit 3.5 5.1 2.4 $11.0
Societe Gen+ 1.3 3.7 5.8 $10.8
C.Agricole+ 2.7 4.4 3.1 $10.2
ING 7.1 2.4 $9.5
Bayern LB 1.1 8.0 $9.1
Intesa Sanpaolo 1.6 4.5 2.6 $8.7
Goldman Sachs 1.7 4.9 1.9 $8.5
Natixis+ 2.0 2.5 3.1 $7.6
Canadian Imp Bk Commerce $6.5
Erste Bank 0.8 2.5 1.3 $4.6
Standard Chartered 0.8 1.8 1.1 $3.7
Bear Stearns****** 3.0 0.6 $3.6
Fortis $3.1
WestLB $3.0
Rabobank 0.8 1.7 $2.5

===============================================================
Total $1,071.7

(Sources: Reuters/annual reports/company filings)

Estimates based on writedowns and losses from subprime securities, mortgages, CDOs, derivatives and SIVs, and losses on bad loans, or non-performing loans. The definition of a bad loan is complex and can vary between countries and often includes a provision for future loan losses.

NOTES:

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Top U.S. and European banks have lost more than $1 trillion on toxic assets and from bad loans since the start of 2007, and were expected to top $2.8 trillion from 2007-10 with roughly two thirds from loans and the remainder on securities, according to International Monetary Fund forecasts.

U.S. banks were expected to take a $1 trillion hit and European bank losses will reach $1.6 trillion, the IMF said at the end of September. It said U.S. banks were about 60 percent through their losses, but British and eurozone banks were only 40 percent through their writedowns.

Below is a list of estimated losses:

(in billions of dollars at current exchange rates)

Citigroup 29.1 63.4 21.8 $124.0
Wachovia Corp* 4.0 73.4 $77.4
Bank of America 12.1 29.2 27.0 $68.3
Merrill Lynch** 25.1 38.6 $63.7
HSBC 19.3 30.3 13.9 $63.5
Lloyds& 6.8 28.9 22.3 $58.0
UBS 50.6 1.7 $52.3
Royal Bk Scotland 7.0 23.5 19.6 $50.1
Fannie Mae 4.7 26.9 15.4 $47.0
Freddie Mac 5.2 24.4 12.8 $42.4
Washington Mutual*** 5.1 36.7 $41.8
Barclays 7.0 16.5 10.3 $33.8
JPMorgan Chase 4.5 10.2 16.8 $31.5
Lehman Brothers**** 12.5 14.0 $26.5
Santander 4.8 8.3 10.6 $23.7
Commerzbank/Dresdner 3.9 13.3 4.5 $22.3
Morgan Stanley 10.3 10.1 1.7 $22.1
Wells Fargo 3.5 8.7 8.2 $20.4
Deutsche Bank 4.0 11.2 3.1 $18.3
Credit Suisse 3.5 11.9 1.9 $17.3
IKB && $14.7
National City***** $14.0
BNP Paribas+ 2.4 8.0 3.4 $13.8
BBVA 2.7 4.2 5.5 $12.4
UniCredit 3.5 5.1 2.4 $11.0
Societe Gen+ 1.3 3.7 5.8 $10.8
C.Agricole+ 2.7 4.4 3.1 $10.2
ING 7.1 2.4 $9.5
Bayern LB 1.1 8.0 $9.1
Intesa Sanpaolo 1.6 4.5 2.6 $8.7
Goldman Sachs 1.7 4.9 1.9 $8.5
Natixis+ 2.0 2.5 3.1 $7.6
Canadian Imp Bk Commerce $6.5
Erste Bank 0.8 2.5 1.3 $4.6
Standard Chartered 0.8 1.8 1.1 $3.7
Bear Stearns****** 3.0 0.6 $3.6
Fortis $3.1
WestLB $3.0
Rabobank 0.8 1.7 $2.5

===============================================================
Total $1,071.7

(Sources: Reuters/annual reports/company filings)

Estimates based on writedowns and losses from subprime securities, mortgages, CDOs, derivatives and SIVs, and losses on bad loans, or non-performing loans. The definition of a bad loan is complex and can vary between countries and often includes a provision for future loan losses.

NOTES:

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Top U.S. and European banks have lost more than $1 trillion on toxic assets and from bad loans since the start of 2007, and were expected to top $2.8 trillion from 2007-10 with roughly two thirds from loans and the remainder on securities, according to International Monetary Fund forecasts.

U.S. banks were expected to take a $1 trillion hit and European bank losses will reach $1.6 trillion, the IMF said at the end of September. It said U.S. banks were about 60 percent through their losses, but British and eurozone banks were only 40 percent through their writedowns.

Below is a list of estimated losses:

(in billions of dollars at current exchange rates)

Citigroup 29.1 63.4 21.8 $124.0
Wachovia Corp* 4.0 73.4 $77.4
Bank of America 12.1 29.2 27.0 $68.3
Merrill Lynch** 25.1 38.6 $63.7
HSBC 19.3 30.3 13.9 $63.5
Lloyds& 6.8 28.9 22.3 $58.0
UBS 50.6 1.7 $52.3
Royal Bk Scotland 7.0 23.5 19.6 $50.1
Fannie Mae 4.7 26.9 15.4 $47.0
Freddie Mac 5.2 24.4 12.8 $42.4
Washington Mutual*** 5.1 36.7 $41.8
Barclays 7.0 16.5 10.3 $33.8
JPMorgan Chase 4.5 10.2 16.8 $31.5
Lehman Brothers**** 12.5 14.0 $26.5
Santander 4.8 8.3 10.6 $23.7
Commerzbank/Dresdner 3.9 13.3 4.5 $22.3
Morgan Stanley 10.3 10.1 1.7 $22.1
Wells Fargo 3.5 8.7 8.2 $20.4
Deutsche Bank 4.0 11.2 3.1 $18.3
Credit Suisse 3.5 11.9 1.9 $17.3
IKB && $14.7
National City***** $14.0
BNP Paribas+ 2.4 8.0 3.4 $13.8
BBVA 2.7 4.2 5.5 $12.4
UniCredit 3.5 5.1 2.4 $11.0
Societe Gen+ 1.3 3.7 5.8 $10.8
C.Agricole+ 2.7 4.4 3.1 $10.2
ING 7.1 2.4 $9.5
Bayern LB 1.1 8.0 $9.1
Intesa Sanpaolo 1.6 4.5 2.6 $8.7
Goldman Sachs 1.7 4.9 1.9 $8.5
Natixis+ 2.0 2.5 3.1 $7.6
Canadian Imp Bk Commerce $6.5
Erste Bank 0.8 2.5 1.3 $4.6
Standard Chartered 0.8 1.8 1.1 $3.7
Bear Stearns****** 3.0 0.6 $3.6
Fortis $3.1
WestLB $3.0
Rabobank 0.8 1.7 $2.5

===============================================================
Total $1,071.7

(Sources: Reuters/annual reports/company filings)

Estimates based on writedowns and losses from subprime securities, mortgages, CDOs, derivatives and SIVs, and losses on bad loans, or non-performing loans. The definition of a bad loan is complex and can vary between countries and often includes a provision for future loan losses.

NOTES:

By Huw Jones

LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog will have powers to claw back bank bonuses that breach globally agreed rules on remuneration and force hedge funds to provide data, a draft law published on Thursday showed.
The draft law's main provisions were announced by the government on Wednesday and enforce pledges Britain and other members of the G20 group of leading countries made this year to apply lessons from the credit crunch.
"The bill we are introducing today is central to the government's reform agenda that seeks to empower consumers and make sure that, in the future, taxpayers will not be called on to protect banks from the consequences of their actions," Britain's Finance Minister Alistair Darling said in a statement.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will have "information gathering powers extended to non-regulated firms, including hedge funds, where information is relevant to financial stability", the draft law says.
Hedge fund managers are already required to register and provide data. The European Union is also adopting a law with similar provisions.
The FSA will have a new, explicit objective of helping to ensure financial stability, giving it a bigger role in monitoring and assessing risk that could destabilise the broader financial system -- a supervisory gap the credit crunch highlighted in many countries.
"The measures in the bill, particularly under the proposed financial stability objective, will give the FSA more powers to carry out its remit from parliament in a more effective manner," an FSA spokesman said.
The opposition Conservative Party, tipped by pollsters to win the election due by June, wants to abolish the FSA and hand all individual bank and system-wide supervision to the Bank of England.
Britain's financial services minister Paul Myners said there were no plans for tearing up existing pay contracts.
"That's an abrogation of legal contracts which governments should not contemplate," Myners told Sky News television.
"What we are saying is that going forward all contracts have to comply with the framework specified by the FSA, and if a bank were to offer a contract which the FSA regarded as reckless... then that contract could be voided and penalties could arise," Myners said.
He does not expect this to happen in practice and banks are keen on the provision as it will help them "manage better the greed they have been confronted" with.
The bill will also give the FSA powers to curb short-selling and require disclosure on short selling, a practice favoured by some hedge funds and blamed by policymakers for amplifying selloffs in bank shares at the height of the credit crunch.
Such measures have already been used by the FSA.
The watchdog will also have a duty to require firms to plan for their possible demise by drawing up "living wills" or recovery and resolution plans for a speedy wind down that avoids the need for taxpayer bailouts.
The G20 wants all major financial firms to draw up living wills by the end of 2010 and the FSA has already announced that several banks are taking part in a pilot scheme to complete first drafts of living wills in coming weeks.
The bill also contains provisions on pay in light of a UK government commissioned review by former top banker David Walker on how to strengthen corporate governance and make boards more accountable for a bank's activities.
The final version of the Walker Review is published on Nov. 26 but the government has already said it backs the findings of a preliminary version released this year.
There will also be a new Financial Services Compensation Scheme to compensate British customers of overseas financial firms. Britain had to step in to safeguard deposits held by UK customers of failing Icelandic banks.

(Additional reporting by Avril Ormsby, editing by Andy Bruce) Keywords: BRITAIN FINANCIAL/ (Reuters messaging: huw.jones.reuters.com@reuters.net; + 44 207 542 3326; huw.jones@thomsonreuters.com)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

By Steve Slater and Jane Merriman

LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Five years ago David Mayhew was under fire for selling out to a U.S. investment bank in a deal that would see British blue-blood stockbroker Cazenove gobbled up and spat out.
Now Cazenove remains the top advisor to Britain's biggest firms and Mayhew has sealed his reputation as 'King of the City' by agreeing the full sale of his firm to JPMorgan at a good price, earning millions for himself and colleagues.
Mayhew, a fly fishing and pedigree cattle expert, has been at Cazenove for 40 years and chairman for the last eight. He has the ear of more top UK executives and institutional investors than any other banker, according to people across the industry.
"He is ferociously well connected," the chief executive of one firm said.
The urbane, traditional merchant banker is renowned for his charm and discretion. A man of few words, he has an admired reading of the stock market and on how the market will react to deals, people say.
"He has the ability to make clients feel they get special attention, so they think: 'David's my man.' That's a great skill," one banker said.
Mayhew will land a 19 million pound ($31.7 million) windfall from Thursday's deal.
Supporters say that's his reward for four decades helping to make Cazenove the adviser of choice to more top UK companies than any of his bigger rivals.
The path to those riches has not always been smooth, however. He was charged in a share price scandal of the late 1980s surrounding the Guinness takeover of Scotch whisky company Distillers, but all charges were dropped. Cazenove came out in robust support of its man.
When Mayhew first got into bed with JPMorgan he was criticised for not selling out earlier for a higher price. Some staff left in the early days, fuelling criticism that the marriage would not work, cultures would clash and clients would desert.
One JPMorgan banker said the worry was they would "trample all over Cazenove with their cowboy boots".
Soon after the tie-up started it became embroiled in a row over the takeover of English soccer club Manchester United by an American tycoon, after Cazenove and JPMorgan had conflicting roles in the deal.
But the reality was that JPMorgan was a good match. Cazenove needed the balance sheet strength its U.S. partner provided -- more than ever to help clients during the financial crisis.
In a record year for equity fundraising in Britain, JPMorgan Cazenove has advised on most big deals, such as bumper rights issues by HSBC and Rio Tinto.

Mayhew, 69, will remain as chairman of JPMorgan Cazenove. A past criticism was that his dominance had held back others, but now people like head of equities Alan Carruthers have gained greater prominence.
"If he left tomorrow there would be a blip, but five years ago it would have been a disaster," one banker said.
Mayhew and his company represent the old-style City of London. He was educated at Eton, one of Britain's most exclusive schools, and then went straight into stockbroking.
He began his career at another old City firm, Panmure Gordon and moved to Cazenove in 1969, becoming partner in 1972.
Part of Cazenove's elitist attraction has been its unfailing adherence to British traditions, with its tail-coated doormen and oil paintings of former partners.
There is an unspoken dress code, for male staff at least, according to bankers who have worked there: black lace-up shoes, grey socks, double-cuffed shirts and pin-striped suits.
One J.P. Morgan banker who joined the joint venture said when he took off his tie, "the Caz lot reacted as though I'd streaked naked across the office".
(editing by John Stonestreet) ($1=.6002 Pound) Keywords: CAZENOVE/MAYHEW

(steve.slater@reuters.com; +44 207 542 4367; Reuters Messaging: steve.slater.reuters.com@reuters.net)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog will have powers to claw back bank bonuses that breach globally agreed rules on remuneration and force hedge funds to provide data, a draft law published on Thursday showed.
The draft law's main provisions were announced by the government on Wednesday and enforce pledges Britain and other members of the G20 group of leading countries made this year to apply lessons from the credit crunch.
"The bill we are introducing today is central to the government's reform agenda that seeks to empower consumers and make sure that, in the future, taxpayers will not be called on to protect banks from the consequences of their actions," Britain's Finance Minister Alistair Darling said in a statement.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will have "information gathering powers extended to non-regulated firms, including hedge funds, where information is relevant to financial stability", the draft law says.
Hedge fund managers are already required to register and provide data. The European Union is also adopting a law with similar provisions.
The opposition Conservative Party, tipped by pollsters to win the election due by June, wants to abolish the FSA and hand all bank supervisory powers to the Bank of England.
The bill will also give the FSA powers to curb short-selling and require disclosure on short selling, a practice favoured by some hedge funds and blamed by policymakers for amplifying selloffs in bank shares at the height of the credit crunch.
Such measures have already been used by the FSA.
The watchdog will also have a duty to require firms to plan for their possible demise by drawing up "living wills" or recovery and resolution plans for a speedy wind down that avoids the need for taxpayer bailouts.
The G20 wants all major financial firms to draw up living wills by the end of 2010 and the FSA has already announced that several banks are taking part in a pilot scheme to complete first drafts of living wills in coming weeks.
The bill also contains provisions on pay in light of a UK government commissioned review by former top banker David Walker on how to strengthen corporate governance and make boards more accountable for a bank's activities.
The final version of the Walker Review is published on Nov. 26 but the government has already said it backs the findings of a preliminary version released this year.
There will also be a new Financial Services Compensation Scheme to compensate British customers of overseas financial firms. Britain had to step in to safeguard deposits held by UK customers of failing Icelandic banks.

(Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Andy Bruce) Keywords: BRITAIN FINANCIAL/ (Reuters messaging: huw.jones.reuters.com@reuters.net; + 44 207 542 3326; huw.jones@thomsonreuters.com)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

Nov 19 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co is buying the half of Cazenove it does not already own in a deal valuing the venerable UK stockbroker at 2 billion pounds ($3.4 billion).
Key facts about Cazenove:

HISTORY:
Cazenove dates back to the early Huguenot financiers who left France due to religious persecution in the late 17th century. Members of the Cazenove family arrived in London and in 1819 Philip Cazenove joined the financial business of his brother-in-law John Menet.
They prospered from raising money for railway companies, sewage firms and others and by the mid-1930s established as one of the City of London's pre-eminent stockbroking partnerships.
The company incorporated in April 2001 and considered a flotation. In November 2004 it struck a UK investment banking joint venture with JPMorgan.

CLIENTS, DEALS:
The joint venture maintained Cazenove's position as adviser to more top British firms than any rival. It is broker to 36 FTSE 100 companies and 94 FTSE 250 clients.
Advised on most big UK rights issues this year, including for HSBC, Rio Tinto and Lloyds. Other clients include Barclays and Diageo.
Media reports say personal clients include the Queen of England and David Beckham.

RANKINGS:
JPMorgan Cazenove ranks no.1 on UK equity capital markets activity this year, advising on 51 issues worth almost $22.9 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data, and on 27.2 percent of deals.
JPMorgan ranks fifth for UK debt capital markets activity, advising on deals worth $15.7 billion, 6 percent market share.
JPMorgan Cazenove ranks 11th for UK M&A advisory on deals worth $19.8 billion, 7.4 percent market share.

PROFITS, VALUATION:
JPMorgan Cazenove 2008 pretax profit 134.5 million pounds. Cazenove Group's post-tax profit was 48.5 million pounds, implying a valuation on Thursday's deal of 21 times earnings.
Cazenove Group's post-tax profits in nine months to end-September was 65.4 million pounds, indicating full-year profits of over 80 million pounds and a deal valuation of under 13 times current year earnings.

MANAGEMENT AND STAR BANKERS:
JPMorgan Cazenove Chairman David Mayhew, 69, joined Cazenove in 1969. Chief Executive Naguib Kheraj took the helm in October 2008 joining from UK bank Barclays.
Top dealmakers include: Ian Hannam, chairman of capital markets; Alan Carruthers, head of equities; and Charles Harman, head of UK investment banking.
Kheraj will have a short-term integration role. Mayhew, Hannam, Carruthers and Harman will all join JPMorgan.

SHARE OWNERSHIP:
Mayhew is in line for a 19 million pound payday, based on his ownership of 3.6 million ordinary shares at the end of 2008.
Dozens of former staff and current employees stand to make millions of pounds apiece.
Cazenove has about 1,500 shareholders and about 36 percent of shares are owned by current staff. Some 54 percent is owned by former employees, 8 percent is owned by institutions and 1 percent is owned by JPMorgan.

(Sources: company, Thomson Reuters data, reports)

(Compiled by Steve Slater; editing by Elaine Hardcastle) Keywords: CAZENOVE/FACTBOX (steve.slater@reuters.com; +44 207 542 4367; Reuters Messaging: steve.slater.reuters.com@reuters.net)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Spain's Santander, the banking group which owns Britain's Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, will next year launch a no-fees current account, with no charges for overdraft use or access to foreign ATMs.
The account, called the Santander Zero Current Account, will only be available to customers who take out a mortgage with Santander and will be launched to coincide with the rebranding of over 1,000 Abbey and Bradford & Bingley branches in January 2010, the banking group said on Thursday.
"Our new approach is one based on simplicity: the more business you do with us, the more we will offer you in return," Santander's Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio said in a statement.
Santander shares, which have risen a fifth in the last three months, were 0.6 percent down at 11.68 euros by 1014 GMT.
(Reporting by Rhys Jones; editing by Victoria Bryan) Keywords: SANTANDER BRITAIN/

(rhysl.jones@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 4166; Reuters Messaging: rhysl.jones.reuters.com@reuters.net;)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

BEIJING, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The number of U.S.-dollar millionaires in China is expected to nearly double in five years, luring private bankers eager to help them invest an expected combined wealth over $7.6 trillion by 2013, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said on Thursday.
Global wealth declined last year for the first time since 2001, the consultancy said, but the number of Chinese individuals with household financial wealth of more than $1 million may grow to 788,000 by 2013 from 417,000 in 2008.
"We believe that China's wealth market offers an attractive window of opportunity for banks," Frankie Leung, a BCG partner in Hong Kong, told reporters in Beijing.
"How banks should act to capture the opportunities and establish competitive positions would be a key strategic issue to explore."
Foreign banks, including HSBC Holdings Plc , Citigroup Inc and Bank of East Asia, have all started private banking businesses in China, competing for affluent clients with local rivals such as Bank of China .
According to the consultancy's definition, financial wealth includes cash, equities and bonds but excludes real estate and privately owned enterprises.
Globally, total assets of rich individuals declined by 11.7 percent to $92.4 trillion in 2008 due to the global financial crisis, the first decline since 2001, but BCG expects growth to resume over the next few years.
"It will take roughly five years for the wealth pools to recover from the crisis and to reach a level that is comparable to wealth growth in 2007," said Holger Michaelis, a partner and managing director of the firm.
He added that the financial crisis has made rich people abandon complex products in favor of simple, less risky investments to protect, rather than grow their wealth.

(Reporting by Michael Wei, and Samuel Shen in Shanghai; Editing by Ken Wills)

((michael.wei@thomsonreuters.com; +8610 6627 1003; Reuters Messaging: michael.wei.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: BCG CHINA/MILLIONAIRES (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

By Huw Jones

LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Conservative Party said it would ditch the core of a financial sector reform bill if it wins power next year, but lawyers expect other parts such as curbs on bankers' pay would be introduced.
The government unveiled plans on Wednesday for a financial services bill in a speech delivered by Queen Elizabeth to open the last parliamentary session before an election to be held by June.
It seeks to improve how risk in the financial system is monitored, beef up enforcement powers at the Financial Services Authority, crackdown on excessive bonuses, and require banks to write "living wills" for use in case they fail.
The bill draws on lessons from the credit crunch to protect investors better and reduce the need for taxpayer bailouts.
At its core is a Council for Financial Stability that formalises and strengthens the existing "tripartite" committee of Treasury, Bank of England and FSA officials.
It was criticised for failing to spot risks that forced Britain to nationalise or take major stakes in Northern Rock, Lloyds and RBS banks.
"The Financial Services Bill in the Queen's speech today will not help as it keeps the failed tripartite system in place," said David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party which is tipped by the polls to win the next election.
"That system needs to go and with a Conservative government it will," Cameron told parliament.
The Conservatives had already said they want to scrap the FSA and put the Bank of England in charge of bank supervision.
"If the Conservatives are elected and want to go ahead with their plan to restructure the regulator, they will need to introduce a bill fairly soon in any event," said Simon Gleeson of Clifford Chance law firm.
"Thus the new government will have a financial services bill in its first session come what may," Gleeson said.
The bill also incorporates rules agreed by the G20 group of top countries in September to curb but not cap bonuses.
"The banks and financial institutions must understand that a return to their old ways is impossible," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament.
"Our bill will automatically make any remuneration contract which contravene the rules void and nullified," Brown said.
UK Financial Services Minister Paul Myners said the bill will not change existing pay contracts or give the FSA direct powers over existing contracts.
"The bill represents no threat to the major banks and investment banks that have confirmed their support for G20 principles. The UK will continue to be a good place in which to conduct financial transactions," Myners told an awards event.
Financial lawyers expect the bill's provisions on tougher enforcement and bonus curbs to become law whoever wins the next election.
"At least some of it looks as though it might be sensible, the enforcement powers reforms for example, and it is unlikely that any incoming government would simply rip it up," Gleeson said.
Michael McKee, a partner at DLA Piper law firm, said the Labour government will focus hard on trying to get the bonus related law through as soon as possible.
"If they managed to do that I don't think that the Conservatives would necessarily change the law because it would be unpopular to go easy on bankers," McKee said.
There was little new on remuneration which stops short of capping payouts and comes too late to influence the 2009 bonus round that is settled by early 2010, lawyers said.
"We should be wary of the principle that the state should set an individual's pay package, not the market," said Maggie Craig, acting Director General of the Association of British Insurers.
Jacqui Hatfield of Reed Smith, said it would be too costly for the government to try an tear up existing pay agreements.
The British Bankers' Association said banks were fully aware that pay should reward long term success and not encourage undue risk taking.
"We have already signed up to remuneration rules with the Financial Services Authority and support moves by the G20 to co-ordinate international agreements, necessary to keep talent in the UK," the BBA said in a statement.
The FSA is expected to get new powers that will make it easier to pursue individuals and suspend future business activities as punishment for past breaches, a new departure.
"The financial services bill is a little bit oversold but enforcement is clearly going to be much tougher whoever wins the next election," said Maxine Cupitt of CMS Cameron McKenna.
There were also some concerns over a provision to allow groups of consumers to be represented in a court.
"Pushing the UK toward a US litigation culture would create costs for consumers and businesses that far outweigh the benefits," ABI's Craig said.
(Additional reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Victoria Main and Toby Chopra) Keywords: BRITAIN FINANCIAL/REGULATION

(Reuters messaging: huw.jones.reuters.com@reuters.net; + 44 207 32 2 287 6817; huw.jones@thomsonreuters.com)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

By Huw Jones

LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Conservative Party said it would ditch the core of a financial sector reform if it wins power next year, but lawyers expect other parts such as curbs on bank pay would be introduced.
The government unveiled plans on Wednesday for a financial services bill in a speech delivered by Queen Elizabeth to open the last parliamentary session before an election to be held by June.
It seeks to improve how risk in the financial system is monitored, beef up enforcement powers at the Financial Services Authority, crackdown on excessive bonuses, and require banks to write "living wills" for use in case they fail.
The bill draws on lessons from the credit crunch to protect investors better and reduce the need for taxpayer bailouts.
At its core is a Council for Financial Stability that formalises and strengthens the existing "tripartite" committee of Treasury, Bank of England and FSA officials.
It was criticised for failing to spot risks that forced Britain to nationalise or take major stakes in Nationwide, Lloyds and RBS banks.
"The Financial Services Bill in the Queen's speech today will not help as it keeps the failed tripartite system in place," said David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party which is tipped by the polls to win the next election.
"That system needs to go and with a Conservative government it will," Cameron told parliament.
The Conservatives had already said they want to scrap the FSA and put the Bank of England in charge of bank supervision.
"If the Conservatives are elected and want to go ahead with their plan to restructure the regulator, they will need to introduce a bill fairly soon in any event," said Simon Gleeson of Clifford Chance law firm.
"Thus the new government will have a financial services bill in its first session come what may," Gleeson said.
The bill also incorporates rules agreed by the G20 group of top countries in September to curb but not cap bonuses.
"The banks and financial institutions must understand that a return to their old ways is impossible," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament.
"Our bill will automatically make any remuneration contract which contravene the rules void and nullified," Brown said.
Financial lawyers expect the bill's provisions on tougher enforcement and bonus curbs to become law whoever wins the next election.
"At least some of it looks as though it might be sensible, the enforcement powers reforms for example, and it is unlikely that any incoming government would simply rip it up," Gleeson said.
Michael McKee, a partner at DLA Piper law firm, said the Labour government will focus hard on trying to get the bonus related law through as soon as possible.
"If they managed to do that I don't think that the Conservatives would necessarily change the law because it would be unpopular to go easy on bankers," McKee said.
There was little new on remuneration which stops short of capping payouts and comes too late to influence the 2009 bonus round that is settled by early 2010, lawyers said.
"We should be wary of the principle that the state should set an individual's pay package, not the market," said Maggie Craig, acting Director General of the Association of British Insurers.
Jacqui Hatfield of Reed Smith, said it would be too costly for the government to try an tear up existing pay agreements.
The British Bankers' Association said banks were fully aware that pay should reward long term success and not encourage undue risk taking.
"We have already signed up to remuneration rules with the Financial Services Authority and support moves by the G20 to co-ordinate international agreements, necessary to keep talent in the UK," the BBA said in a statement.
The FSA is expected to get new powers that will make it easier to pursue individuals and suspend future business activities as punishment for past breaches, a new departure.
"The financial services bill is a little bit oversold but enforcement is clearly going to be much tougher whoever wins the next election," said Maxine Cupitt of CMS Cameron McKenna.
There were also some concerns over a provision to allow groups of consumers to be represented in a court.
"Pushing the UK toward a US litigation culture would create costs for consumers and businesses that far outweigh the benefits," ABI's Craig said.
(Additional reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Victoria Main) Keywords: BRITAIN FINANCIAL/REGULATION

(Reuters messaging: huw.jones.reuters.com@reuters.net; + 44 207 32 2 287 6817; huw.jones@thomsonreuters.com)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings PLC:

RNS Number : 6973C HSBC Holdings PLC 18 November 2009

18 November 2009

STATEMENT

HSBC confirms that it is in exclusive discussions which may lead to the sale and leaseback for an initial nine year period of HSBC France's buildings at 103 avenue des Champs Elys? and 15 rue Vernet in Paris to a subsidiary of a French OPCI (Organisme de Placement Collectif Immobilier). If a transaction is concluded, HSBC France will continue to occupy the building.

These discussions are ongoing and a further announcement will be made as and when appropriate. Media enquiries to Brendan McNamara on +44 (0) 20 7991 0655 or at brendan.mcnamara@hsbc.com

Notes to editors:

1. HSBC France

HSBC France, previously CCF, which was founded in 1894, joined the HSBC Group in 2000 and switched to the HSBC France brand in November 2005. HSBC France is headquartered in Paris. Serving customers from around 430 offices across France and more than 11,600 employees, HSBC France is a universal bank serving both personal and business customers.

2. HSBC Holdings plc

HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 9,500 offices in 86 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,527 billion at 31 December 2008, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations.

This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

MSCBBBDBUSBGGCI

By Kim Dixon

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Some 14,700 rich Americans, worried about a stepped-up U.S. crackdown on offshore tax cheats, have turned themselves in under the government's amnesty program.
The Internal Revenue Service amnesty program, which ended in October, offered reduced penalties for voluntarily disclosing previously undeclared foreign holdings. It is part of a broader effort by the United States and other authorities to crack down on tax evasion.
Of the nearly 15,000 newly disclosed accounts, many involved bank accounts in Switzerland and Europe, but assets were hidden in more than 70 countries.

Participation in the IRS program was "unprecedented" and the final number was nearly double the agency's estimate in October, U.S. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman told reporters in a telephone briefing.
Barbara Kaplan, a lawyer for high net-worth clients in New York, said: "The IRS has never got anything like that in response to prior initiatives. It's a little higher than I anticipated based on the pace of my own practice and the panic that was out there."
A high-profile U.S. lawsuit against Swiss banking giant UBS AG led the bank to agree earlier this year to promise to reveal the names of 4,450 client accounts held by Americans. Those accounts at one time were worth a total of $18 billion.
While IRS officials were still analyzing the amount of offshore assets declared in the amnesty program, Shulman said, "we are talking about billions of dollars coming into the U.S. Treasury" from the new disclosures.
One IRS official said that at the end of the amnesty program, there was a "significant influx in accounts with holdings in the Far East."
The IRS has said recently it is focusing on funds flowing out of Europe and into Asia, and is opening a new office in Beijing.

Shulman also said the outpouring of information about hidden offshore accounts had no bearing on the legal obligation of UBS to turn over names of 4,450 American account holders. There had been some speculation that success in the amnesty program might affect how much information UBS had to share.
"Some have misinterpreted this," Shulman said.
The IRS emphasized it would closely examine the new information with an eye toward what role tax advisers played in helping their clients hide assets. Shulman declined to say if the IRS was looking at other financial institutions.
The voluntary amnesty program was open to accountholders of all banks, and lawyers have said customers from Credit Suisse Group AG and HSBC Holdings are among those that took part.

The U.S. and Swiss governments on Tuesday also released the criteria that will be used to select the 4,450 accounts that UBS must eventually provide to the IRS.
The Swiss Justice Department said it would hand over the names of wealthy American clients of UBS with accounts holding more than 1 million Swiss francs ($986,200) where there is a reasonable suspicion of tax fraud.
Accounts of a lesser size, as low as 100,000 Swiss francs, could be included in certain circumstances when there is a "scheme of lies" identified, according to the document.
"The threshold for disclosing accounts, in my opinion, is low," said Kevin Thorn, a Washington-based tax lawyer. "Most believed the threshold would have been $1 million-plus but it appears the government is holding to its word and looking at conduct more than amounts and is going after taxpayers across the board."
Also included in the criteria is suspicious activity related to the use of debit cards, cell phones or wire transfers to hide accounts.
Senator Carl Levin, whose congressional panel has investigated tax evasion for several years, said the language leaves too many loopholes for the Swiss.
"The tortured wording and the many limitations in this (agreement) shows the Swiss government trying to preserve as much bank secrecy as it can for the future, while pushing to conceal the names of tens of thousands of suspected U.S. tax cheats," said Levin, a Democrat. "It is disappointing that the U.S. government went along."
The IRS said the criteria will identify the accounts it is most interested in and those that would be hardest for the agency to identify on its own. The criteria apply to UBS accounts held between 2001 and 2008 by U.S. citizens.

RELATED NEWS:
* Swiss suspect serious fraud by UBS clients
* Singapore to meet OECD tax standard
* U.S. tax bill could deter foreign capital
* UBS informant gets lenient for tax fraud
* Swiss banks see no outflows on tax deals
* NEWSMAKER-US tax cop hits offshore cheats

(Reporting by Kim Dixon; Additional reporting by Jason Rhodes in Bern, Switzerland; Writing by Julie Vorman; Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Gary Hill) Keywords: UBS/TAX AMNESTY Keywords: UBS/TAX AMNESTY

(kim.dixon@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 354-5864; Reuters Messaging: kim.dixon.reuters.com@reuters.net)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

By Kim Dixon

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Some 14,700 rich Americans, worried about a stepped-up U.S. crackdown on offshore tax cheats, have turned themselves in under the government's amnesty program.
The Internal Revenue Service amnesty program, which ended in October, offered reduced penalties for voluntarily disclosing previously undeclared foreign holdings. It is part of a broader effort by the United States and other authorities to crack down on tax evasion.
Of the nearly 15,000 newly disclosed accounts, many involved bank accounts in Switzerland and Europe, but assets were hidden in more than 70 countries.

Participation in the IRS program was "unprecedented" and the final number was nearly double the agency's estimate in October, U.S. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman told reporters in a telephone briefing.
Barbara Kaplan, a lawyer for high net-worth clients in New York, said: "The IRS has never got anything like that in response to prior initiatives. It's a little higher than I anticipated based on the pace of my own practice and the panic that was out there."
A high-profile U.S. lawsuit against Swiss banking giant UBS AG led the bank to agree earlier this year to promise to reveal the names of 4,450 client accounts held by Americans. Those accounts at one time were worth a total of $18 billion.
While IRS officials were still analyzing the amount of offshore assets declared in the amnesty program, Shulman said, "we are talking about billions of dollars coming into the U.S. Treasury" from the new disclosures.
One IRS official said that at the end of the amnesty program, there was a "significant influx in accounts with holdings in the Far East."
The IRS has said recently it is focusing on funds flowing out of Europe and into Asia, and is opening a new office in Beijing.

Shulman also said the outpouring of information about hidden offshore accounts had no bearing on the legal obligation of UBS to turn over names of 4,450 American account holders. There had been some speculation that success in the amnesty program might affect how much information UBS had to share.
"Some have misinterpreted this," Shulman said.
The IRS emphasized it would closely examine the new information with an eye toward what role tax advisers played in helping their clients hide assets. Shulman declined to say if the IRS was looking at other financial institutions.
The voluntary amnesty program was open to accountholders of all banks, and lawyers have said customers from Credit Suisse Group AG and HSBC Holdings are among those that took part.

The U.S. and Swiss governments on Tuesday also released the criteria that will be used to select the 4,450 accounts that UBS must eventually provide to the IRS.
The Swiss Justice Department said it would hand over the names of wealthy American clients of UBS with accounts holding more than 1 million Swiss francs ($986,200) where there is a reasonable suspicion of tax fraud.
Accounts of a lesser size, as low as 100,000 Swiss francs, could be included in certain circumstances when there is a "scheme of lies" identified, according to the document.
"The threshold for disclosing accounts, in my opinion, is low," said Kevin Thorn, a Washington-based tax lawyer. "Most believed the threshold would have been $1 million-plus but it appears the government is holding to its word and looking at conduct more than amounts and is going after taxpayers across the board."
Also included in the criteria is suspicious activity related to the use of debit cards, cell phones or wire transfers to hide accounts.
Senator Carl Levin, whose congressional panel has investigated tax evasion for several years, said the language leaves too many loopholes for the Swiss.
"The tortured wording and the many limitations in this (agreement) shows the Swiss government trying to preserve as much bank secrecy as it can for the future, while pushing to conceal the names of tens of thousands of suspected U.S. tax cheats," said Levin, a Democrat. "It is disappointing that the U.S. government went along."
The IRS said the criteria will identify the accounts it is most interested in and those that would be hardest for the agency to identify on its own. The criteria apply to UBS accounts held between 2001 and 2008 by U.S. citizens.

RELATED NEWS:
* Swiss suspect serious fraud by UBS clients
* Singapore to meet OECD tax standard
* U.S. tax bill could deter foreign capital
* UBS informant gets lenient for tax fraud
* Swiss banks see no outflows on tax deals
* NEWSMAKER-US tax cop hits offshore cheats

(Reporting by Kim Dixon; Additional reporting by Jason Rhodes in Bern, Switzerland; Writing by Julie Vorman; Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Gary Hill) Keywords: UBS/TAX AMNESTY (kim.dixon@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 354-5864; Reuters Messaging: kim.dixon.reuters.com@reuters.net)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.