Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Italy’s finance police said they visited 76 branches of Swiss banks and their agents as well as some banks near the border with San Marino as part of an effort to stamp out tax evasion.

Branches of UBS AG were visited by the finance police today in routine checks, an official for the Swiss bank said by phone. The controls concerned customers of UBS’s Italian bank, the official added. Credit Suisse Group AG is also among the companies whose branches were visited, according to a person familiar with the situation. Alex Biscaro, a spokesman for Credit Suisse, declined to comment.

“The inspections were aimed at ensuring that banks and their agents met their commitments to provide timely communications on their financial relations,” the Guardia di Finanza and Italy’s tax agency, the Agenzia delle Entrate, said in a joint e-mailed statement today. “This information is of vital importance in the fight against international tax crime and, more generally, against tax evasion.”

Fiscal Register

Intermediaries and banks operating in Italy must inform the nation’s fiscal register of clients for whom they manage assets and transactions of 1,500 euros ($2,224) or more. Italian authorities have intensified controls, including border checks, in an effort to boost takings from an amnesty that allows individuals and companies to apply for pardons in return for a 5 percent fee. The amnesty runs through Dec. 15.

“Swiss banks in Italy have always been licensed and supervised by the Italian regulatory authorities, so we find this sudden dramatic action a bit strange,” said Swiss Bankers Association spokesman James Nason. “We also find it strange that only branches of Swiss banks have been targeted.”

Swiss authorities aren’t concerned that Italy’s tax amnesty will hurt their country’s financial institutions, Il Sole 24 Ore reported today, citing an interview with Swiss President Hans- Rudolf Merz.

Swiss Finance Ministry spokesman Roland Meier declined to comment on today’s inspections.

Italy’s tax agency plans to make more inspections in the future, today’s statement said.

The Italian association of foreign banks said in statement that lenders are cooperating with authorities. The association is “confident” that its member banks have complied with local regulations, regardless of where the parent companies are based.

To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Lorenzo Totaro in Rome at ltotaro@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 27, 2009 13:38 EDT