(Adds details of Credit Suisse investigation, potential plea)
ZURICH/WASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) - Switzerland's financeminister was set to meet Eric Holder, the U.S. attorney general,in Washington on Friday to discuss a tax-evasion probe intoSwiss banks by U.S. authorities, a Swiss ministry spokesmansaid.
Contacted by phone, the spokesman said the minister, EvelineWidmer-Schlumpf, would push for "fair and equal treatment" ofthe Swiss banks involved in the probe.
U.S. prosecutors have been pushing for Credit Suisse , the biggest Swiss bank in the probe, to pleadguilty as part of a resolution of the investigation, a personfamiliar with the matter said.
U.S. Department of Justice officials met with U.S.regulators last month to make sure that such a plea would notcripple the bank's ability to do business in the United States,the source said.
Credit Suisse came under more pressure this week as a formeremployee pleaded guilty to helping U.S. clients avoid taxes.
"The United States Department of Justice's investigationinto the U.S. tax matter remains outstanding and, while we areworking hard to bring this to a close, the timing and outcomeremain uncertain," Credit Suisse said in its quarterly report onFriday.
The bank declined to comment further on the latest talks.
More than a dozen Swiss banks, including Julius Baer and the Swiss arm of Britain's HSBC Holdings Plc, are under criminal investigation in the United Statesto determine if they helped wealthy Americans hide money fromthe tax man.
Scores of smaller banks have agreed to work with U.S.authorities in order to cap penalties they might face. (Reporting by Oliver Hirt and Silke Koltrowitz in Zurich andAruna Viswanatha and Julia Edwards in Washington; Editing byJeffrey Benkoe)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)