Swiss banks agree to Holocaust payments

Two of the largest private Swiss banks have given their formal endorsement to one-and-a-quarter-billion-dollars to be paid in compensation to the families of victims of the Nazi Holocaust.

Lawyers from Credit Suisse and UBS AG officially notified a United States Judge Edward Korman, who is handling the case, of their acceptance of the deal.

The banks first agreed to the settlement in 1998, but it needed endorsement by a United States court to be legally binding.

The settlement reached as an out of court deal between class action plaintiffs and the banks was approved by the US judge last month.

The approval from the banks now clears the way for the distribution of funds to begin.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service