IRS Stacked, Swiss banks f*****

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Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN), facing a U.S. criminal probe of whether it helped Americans evade taxes, is close to resolving the case with an agreement that may include a penalty of more than $1 billion and a guilty plea, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are confidential, didn’t specify whether the plea would be entered by the entire firm or a subsidiary. Credit Suisse, the largest of 14 Swiss banks facing criminal tax probes by the U.S., was told in 2011 that it was a target of prosecutors.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said yesterday that his department is readying criminal cases against banks that show financial institutions aren’t too big to prosecute, without specifying any firms.

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Reserves Increased

Credit Suisse said April 3 that it increased reserves to 720 million francs to resolve the U.S. case. The bank also agreed Feb. 21 to pay $197 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for providing cross-border securities services to thousands of Americans without registering to conduct the business.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that a settlement may exceed $1 billion. It may go as high as $1.6 billion, Reuters wrote, citing an unidentified person familiar with the matter.

In addition to Credit Suisse, the prosecutors are also nearing a decision on whether to charge BNP Paribas SA (BNP) for violations of sanctions barring business with prohibited countries, a person familiar with the probe has said.

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