Swiss bank Credit Suisse slips into the red in the second quarter

Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group AG slipped from profit to lose in the second quarter of 2022.

Credit Suisse reported on Wednesday that its second-quarter net loss attributable to shareholders was 1.59 billion Swiss francs (1.65 billion dollars), compared to a net income of 253 million francs last year.

Pre-tax loss was 1.17 billion francs, compared to the prior year’s pre-tax income of 813 million francs.

The adjusted pre-tax loss was 442 million francs, compared to an income of 1.31 billion francs a year ago.

Thomas Gottstein, Chief executive officer, stated that the results for the second quarter were disappointing, especially in the investment bank, which was also impacted by higher litigation provisions and other adjusting items.

Net revenues decreased 29 per cent to 3.65 billion francs from last year’s 5.10 billion francs.

Adjusted net revenues were 3.82 billion francs, down 27 per cent from last year.

Assets under management declined to 1.45 trillion francs from the prior year’s 1.63 trillion francs.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects the investment bank division to report a further loss in the third quarter.

Trading so far in the quarter had been marked by continued weakness in client activity, exacerbating normal seasonal declines.

The Swiss bank would continue to deliver resilient performance, notwithstanding the decision by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to increase interest rates.

The company also said it had launched a broader cost efficiency and digital transformation programme to reduce its absolute cost base to less than 15.5 billion francs in the medium term.

Credit Suisse would provide further details on the progress of the strategic review, including specific performance goals, with its third quarter 2022 results.