Our Take:
The 100 Swiss Category 2 banks that signed up for the Department of Justice non-prosecution agreement (NPA) deal last December (2013) have just received the details of what is needed to comply. The banks must report in full any information or knowledge of any activity relating to U.S. tax aspects of any American (or dual-citizen) including names and account details. There has been no end date issued yet, but the DOJ has made it very clear that failure to disclose any of these items in a timely manner will void the NPA and lead to prosecution of the bank.
Swiss banks have asked for guidance on how to comply from the Swiss Government. In response the Swiss Government has said, “the banks are capable of dealing with the demands of the program” without any further guidance needed from the Swiss Government. It appears the Swiss Government will not be of any help to those that are affected by this recent turn of events and that the Department of Justice is turning up the heat significantly. If you are an American or dual-citizen that has an undisclosed account from one of the category 2 Swiss banks, it is crucial that you enter into either the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program or one of its alternatives to resolve compliance issues immediately.
