Bank Leumi Takes Financial Statement Charge for U.S. Tax Investigation (3/5/13)

Bank Leumi has taken a charge to earnings for anticipated losses related to the U.S. probe of foreign bank activity in U.S. tax evasion.  Tova Cohen, Israel's Bank Leumi takes charge on U.S. tax probe costs (Bloomberg 3/4/13), here.  This is a financial statement provision / estimate only and is not a current payment or agreement to pay the U.S.

Excerpts from the article:

Leumi also said that since it does not know for certain how much it will have to spend on the U.S. investigation, the final expense could be significantly higher. 

The bank has urged U.S. clients to disclose information about their accounts to U.S. authorities, who are investigating Leumi and other foreign banks as part of a wide-ranging campaign to crackdown on Americans using offshore banks to avoid taxes. 

The U.S. effort has been focused largely on banks in Switzerland, but it has been known that banks in other countries, including Israel, are under scrutiny. 

In a December 16 letter obtained by Reuters, Leumi urged U.S. clients to join the Internal Revenue Service's voluntary disclosure scheme. 

Leumi's fourth-quarter provision is to cover any expenses arising from the investigation, which relates to the period 2002-2010, including the cost of advisers hired by the bank. 

"This provision is not an admission regarding any complaint that might be raised against the group by U.S. tax authorities," Leumi said in a statement.