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A French court has already ordered UBS to
deposit a 1.1 billion-euro ($1.4 billion) guarantee to cover a
portion of potential fines in the case, but Swiss newspaper Le
Temps said it had seen a legal document showing the bank could
face a penalty of up to 5 billion euros.
The document, written by two judges, is dated July 23, the same
day the bank was first ordered by French officials to pay the
guarantee.
Le Temps quoted the document as saying "the business model of
UBS Switzerland was to offer its clients bank secrecy in
contradiction to (French) fiscal authorities".
Shares in UBS fell by as much as 3.2 percent on Friday but pared
losses to trade down 1.4 percent at 0942 GMT (0542 EDT), still
lagging the European banking sector <.SX7P> which was up 1.1
percent.
UBS said the basis for any calculations of potential fines was
artificial and speculative.
"We cannot control the irresponsible disclosure of confidential
documents or their selective interpretation," UBS said in a
statement.
"This matter is currently still in the stage of a formal
investigation and we will continue to defend ourselves
strongly."
Last month, the bank said it would again appeal against a French
court ruling demanding the guarantee payment after an initial
appeal was turned down.
On top of the French case, UBS is also dealing with allegations
it was involved in rigging foreign exchange rates. The bank
warned earlier this week it faced new fines after confirming it
was holding talks to settle these allegations.
(Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Mark Potter)
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