California to lift Swiss bank moratorium

The American state of California says it is going to suspend its moratorium on investments with Swiss banks for three months.

The moratorium was imposed in July to put pressure on the banks to make a full disclosure of deposits that belonged to victims of the Nazi holocaust.

The California state treasurer, Matt Fong, said he had been generally pleased with the action taken by the banks.

But he warned that the moratorium would be reinstated if there was any sign they were wavering in their commitment.

An international conference on gold looted by Nazi Germany ended in London yesterday with eight countries agreeing to contribute to a new fund to help victims of Nazi persecution.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service