BERNE, June 19 (Reuters) - The Swiss lower house ofparliament dealt a final death blow on Wednesday to a draft lawaimed at protecting the country's banks from criminal charges inthe United States for helping wealthy Americans to evade tax.
The Swiss government has warned that the bill's failurecould prompt impatient U.S. prosecutors to indict banks,although it could still invoke an executive order to allow themto hand over data to try to avert charges.
The bill was aimed at allowing banks to sidestep Swisssecrecy laws by disclosing their U.S. dealings in a bid to helpthem strike deals that are nevertheless expected to includefines that could cost the industry as much as $10 billion.
Lawmakers from both the lower and upper houses of parliamentagreed a statement saying they supported a solution to thelong-running tax dispute and called on the government to allowbanks to cooperate under existing laws.