March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Julius Baer Holding AG, Switzerland's biggest independent bank, declined 4.8 percent in Zurich trading after losing a bid to permanently disable a Web site that allegedly posted leaked customer and banking records on the Internet.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White on Feb. 29 denied the bank's request for a preliminary injunction to disable Wikileaks.org. He also lifted a temporary restraining order that was intended to block the site.

The decision came after a hearing in which media organizations and civil rights groups argued that White's order shutting Wikileaks.org violated free-speech rights. Julius Baer lawyers told White the case was about protecting privacy rights of customers whose information was disclosed in documents that the bank says were stolen.

Julius Baer fell 3.7 francs, the most in a month, to 74 francs in Zurich, where the bank is based. Baer has fallen 21 percent this year in Swiss trading.

Wikileaks.org, a Web site that posts leaked documents, said the Julius Baer documents allegedly provide details of trusts used by bank clients to launder money, hide assets and evade taxes. The bank sued the site Feb. 6 and said in a statement that it ``wholly rejects the serious and defamatory allegations which it contains.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Mulier in Geneva at tmulier@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 3, 2008 11:54 EST