Switzerland may widen U.S. tax cooperation - minister

GENEVA, March 6 - Switzerland is considering expanding its cooperation with the United States on tax matters, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said on Friday.

"We are ready to examine to widen the scope of mutual assistance in tax matters," Calmy-Rey told reporters after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Geneva.

The Swiss government has come under fire after allowing major bank UBS <UBSN.VX> <UBS.N> to disclose the identity of about 300 of its U.S. clients to avert criminal charges that Swiss regulators said would have put its existence at risk and hurt the economy. [ID:nL5912799]

Calmy-Rey said she was concerned about the pressure exerted on UBS by U.S. authorities and said a political solution was needed to avoid more banking job losses in both Switzerland and the United States, where 30,000 UBS jobs are based.

"It is in our mutual interest to avoid further escalation of this issue," she said.