In bank secrecy test, UBS in US court showdown

A courtroom showdown set to begin today in Miami puts Swiss financial giant UBS against American tax authorities in a key test for Switzerland's long tradition of bank secrecy.

US authorities are asking a federal court to order UBS to reveal the names of American offshore account holders, saying the Swiss bank "systematically and deliberately" violated US laws.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed earlier this year and affects as many as 52,000 US taxpayers suspected of holding UBS offshore accounts to avoid paying US taxes.

But the Swiss government has vowed to prevent UBS from releasing client data to US tax authorities and argued that the effort aimed to "provoke international conflict" because it could force UBS to violate Swiss laws.

Jacob Frenkel, a securities lawyer and former US prosecutor, said the case calls for a diplomatic solution because it involves conflicting laws of the two countries.