Best of the Web: Abbey puts offshore IOM unit on market

Abbey, which is controlled by Spanish banking juggernaut Santander, has hired the advisory firm Gleacher Shacklock to dispose of its Isle of Man offshore banking unit.

City sources said information memorandums have been sent to potential buyers and the sale process is in the first round, reports The Daily Telegraph.

Rival banks and building societies, such as Nationwide, were tipped as potential bidders for the business, which could be sold for around £100m to £150m. Some bankers said private equity firms could also be interested. It is thought Abbey already has several offers for the subsidiary. Full story...

UBS has banned more than 1,000 of its private bankers from traveling overseas over fears they could be targeted by foreign governments investigating tax evasion, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The Swiss bank, which is in a legal battle with the US over its unwillingness to divulge names of American clients it helped avoid paying tax, has issued a global travel ban for all client-facing staff in its Wealth Management & Swiss Bank and its Wealth Management US divisions. Full story...

Gordon Brown has been accused of the "height of hypocrisy" for allowing the state-owned Northern Rock to run an offshore bank in the Channel Islands while he is leading a global campaign against tax havens, says The Times.

Northern Rock Guernsey boasts on its website that it is a "major competitor in the offshore retail savings market" and that "expatriates, foreign nationals or UK residents wanting to take advantage of tax planning can choose from a range of competitive products". Tax planning is a euphemism used by financial experts advising on legal ways to avoid tax.

Accounts filed in St Peter Port, the capital of Guernsey, reveal that the bank had deposits and other assets of £1.1 billion at the end of December 2008. Full story...

Investigators looking into alleged corruption in the Icelandic banking system want to enlist the help of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Europol, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Iceland has hired Eva Joly, a Norwegian-French investigating magistrate who specialises in complex fraud prosecutions, to advise the investigators and identify any evidence of corruption.

A source close to the investigation said. "We need serious help from Europe and the UK and tax havens to deal with the international aspects of this because it looks like there was a very elaborate network of crossholdings and money flowing overseas. It's absolutely mind-boggling." Full story...

The United States and Switzerland will begin negotiations to amend their bilateral income tax treaty to provide for improved transparency, the US Treasury Department said, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The negotiations to amend the 1996 treaty are expected to begin April 28 in Berne, Switzerland, the Treasury Department said in a statement. Full story...

Caribbean offshore financial sectors say they are bracing for tougher measures on tax havens expected to come out of the summit of rich nations known as the G20 Group on April 2, the BBC reports. Full story...