Royal Bank of Scotland has disclosed that it is under investigation from German authorities over whether its Swiss private bank helped its wealthy clients evade tax.
The announcement from the bank follows a major controversy over the tax affairs of HSBC's Swiss operations.
Coutts, the taxpayer-owned company's private bank, is being investigated by "a prosecuting authority", the bank said on Thursday.
The disclosure, on page 120 of its annual results, said: "A prosecuting authority in Germany is undertaking an investigation into Coutts & Co Ltd in Switzerland, and current and former employees, for alleged aiding and abetting of tax evasion by certain Coutts & Co Ltd clients.
"Coutts & Co Ltd is cooperating with the authority."
A spokesman for the bank did not elaborate on the nature of the investigation, or who the authority is.
The announcement comes just weeks after allegations around HSBC's Swiss bank sparked a political storm, that has seen the bank apologise and its chief executive admit "shame".
RBS has previously disclosed details of a US-led programme to recover tax payments that were concealed by wealthy clients in the private bank.
Coutts submitted its findings to the US Department of Justice in November, and said on Thursday it expects to "reach resolution with the DoJ in 2015".
Customs officials in Hamburg seized thousands of documents related to Coutts last year, when RBS said it was not aware of any investigation.
The German investigation was not disclosed at the bank's half-year or third quarter results.
The bank made the disclosure as it revealed a seventh-consecutive annual loss.
This article was written by James Titcomb from The Daily Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
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