Credit Suisse building Credit Suisse sent out the letter on November 2nd
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Credit Suisse has sent letters to US clients suspected of tax evasion, saying they intend to give their names to the US Internal Revenue Service.
A copy of the letter, dated 2 November, has been seen by news agency Reuters.
It is unclear how many US clients have been notified, but it covers accounts open from 2002 to the end of last year.
It gives clients the choice of either agreeing the handover of data to US tax authorites, or else hiring a Swiss lawyer to contest the process.
By fighting the disclosure clients would in effect be exposing their identities anyway.
In February the US indicted four Credit Suisse bankers for helping taxpayers hide money in secret bank accounts.
Switzerland is trying to reach a deal with the US that would cover its entire banking system. It is unclear whether this deal is at an end-game.
Tax crackdown
In recent years US authorities have pressured several global banks to help them fight tax evasion.
The US Department of Justice's initial target was Switzerland's other major bank, UBS.
It threatened UBS with legal action if the Swiss bank failed to hand over the details of 4,450 US customers suspected of tax dodging.
Following years of intense pressure from the United States, in June last year the Swiss parliament passed legislation permitting the country's banks to share customer details with the US authorities.
UBS ended up paying a $780m fine, but more importantly the new legislation put an end to Switzerland's famed banking secrecy.
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