Luzerner Kantonalbank AG (Luzerner), Habib Bank AG Zurich (HBZ), Banque Heritage S.A. and Hyposwiss Private Bank Genève S.A. (Hyposwiss Geneva) are four foreign financial institutions that are among the latest banks to give U.S. taxing authorities information about customers with offshore accounts.  These banks are now added to the long list of financial institutions that have been willing to turn over details about their customers in order to avoid facing criminal prosecution.

The Swiss Bank Program lets banks pay penalties and enter into non-prosecution agreements to avoid criminal charges for helping to facilitate tax evasion.  The banks can't just pay the penalty to participate -- they also have to provide information to the Department of Justice about account holders and their tax evasion activities.