UBS Faces Year of Lost Earnings After Shock French Tax Verdict
- Penalties five times greater than expected may delay buyback
- Ermotti had chosen to fight French tax case instead of settle
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UBS Group AG’s decision to fight a tax case in France, rather than settle it, led to a nasty surprise.
Switzerland’s biggest bank was ordered to pay more than $5 billion Wednesday over a tax-evasion case in France -- matching what was sought by prosecutors. That’s five times what some analysts expected, the biggest ever fine for a Swiss bank, and more than 15 times what HSBC Holdings Plc paid to settle a similar matter in France in 2017.