U.S. trial delay seen bringing UBS tax deal nearer

By Lisa Jucca and Tom Brown

ZURICH/MIAMI (Reuters) - A federal court judge in Miami approved a delay in a high-profile trial on Monday in which U.S. tax authorities hoped to force UBS AG to reveal the identities of thousands of Americans suspected of using the Swiss bank to evade taxes.

The postponement was requested in a joint motion from UBS and the U.S. Justice Department on Sunday as the parties announced for the first time that they were engaged in talks for a possible out-of court settlement of the case centering on Switzerland's jealously guarded tradition of bank secrecy.

Presiding Judge Alan Gold of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida agreed to the request to delay the trial's opening until Aug. 3 and said he would gladly give further extensions on request "to assist in accomplishing any goal of settlement."

Gold also set a telephone status conference for July 29, when he said he hoped the participants would be prepared to say whether the Aug. 3 trial would take place as scheduled.

"UBS welcomes Judge Gold's decision to approve a temporary stay of the litigation. It is a positive development that the governments will now engage in intensive discussions over the next two weeks and attempt to negotiate a resolution," the bank said in a statement.

"The content of any potential agreement will be discussed between the two governments. UBS cannot comment further," it added.

The case, seen as key to the future of the global offshore banking industry, seeks to force UBS to reveal the identities of 52,000 rich Americans suspected of using secret bank accounts to dodge taxes. This would be in breach of Swiss bank secrecy laws.

A source familiar with the situation told Reuters the talks, now led by the U.S. and Swiss governments, were aimed at finding a way to allow the transfer of bank client data without breaching Swiss law. The source did not rule out a payment from UBS.