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 The provision is far less than what most analysts had expected, with
some estimates as high as 850 million Swiss francs ($909 million).
The Zurich-based private bank said discussions with U.S. justice
officials had "sufficiently advanced" for it to make an initial
judgment on the financial penalty it will pay to set the
long-running investigation aside.
"Whilst there is no defined timetable for a final settlement, Julius
Baer continues to work towards closing this regrettable legacy issue
as soon as possible," the bank said in a statement.
Asked whether Julius Baer would plead guilty to criminal charges
like larger rival Credit Suisse did last May, a spokesman for the
bank said U.S. officials had not requested it to do so.
A host of Swiss banks was swept up in the wake of criminal probes
into roughly a dozen Swiss banks including Baer, Credit Suisse, and
Geneva-based Pictet & Cie. This broader group has been striking
their own deals under a Swiss government-brokered scheme for them to
pay fines in order to avoid prosecution.
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Baer said its total capital ratio would have been 20.9 percent and
its Tier 1 capital ratio 19.6 percent had the provision been booked
in April, levels that are still well above regulatory requirements.
(Reporting by Katharina Bart; Editing by Michael Shields)
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