Swiss banking firm Credit Suisse plead guilty to charges that it aided some of its US clients to avoid taxes due to the US government. The bank pleaded guilty to criminal charges leveled against it in the US and agreed to pay a fine of USD2.6 billion.

The bank said in a statement that it regretted its actions. The settlement is expected to reduce its second quarter net profit by USD1.8 billion. US Attorney General Eric Holder said that the bank was guilty of aiding US clients to dodge US taxes.

"The bank went to elaborate lengths to shield itself, its employees, and the tax cheats it served from accountability for their criminal actions," the Attorney told the media. The bank was found as offering offshore credit and debit cards to clients for taxable funds to tax havens. The bank is alleged to have involved in the practice for decades.

One of the arms of Credit Suisse was found to be aiding tax avoidance for over 100 years. The authorities have indicted eight employees for helping clients to avoid taxes. The chairman, Urs Rohner, and the chief executive, Brady Dougan, will however not be affected by the suit. The US has expanded tax avoidance related probe to other Swiss banks such as UBS.