"EFG International, along with its parent company EFG Bank European Financial Group, has reached a formal resolution with the US Department of Justice in connection with its participation in Category 2 of the US Tax Programme," it said in a statement late yesterday.

Under the programme, a raft of Swiss banks have signed NPAs and paid fines after accepting that they provided secret accounts for US persons. The programme was originally signed between the US and Swiss governments in August 2013. Under its terms, banks and other financial institutions can say whether they do, or do not, believe they had violated US laws regarding provision of secret accounts.

Under the agreement, EFG and EFG Bank European Financial Group will make a one-time payment of $29.988 million, higher than the $10.8 million sum already provided for, primarily as a result of certain clients taking actions inconsistent with the information they had provided to EFG International, the firm said.

"EFG International believes the agreement reached is positive for the business, removes a major source of uncertainty and will enable senior management to devote more of their time to delivering profitable growth," it said.

In its statement on the issue, the US Department of Justice said that, until 2013, EFG conducted a US cross-border banking business that "aided and assisted certain of its US clients" to opening and main undeclared accounts in Switzerland.

"EFG offered a variety of traditional Swiss banking services that it knew could assist, and did in fact assist, US clients in the concealment of assets and income from the IRS a computer over the border."