Credit Suisse to raise lending volume
ZURICH: Credit Suisse on Thursday said it plans to up lending volume and capitalise on a boom in share listings, to shore up revenue ater low interest rates and legal charges tipped the bank into the red in the fourth quarter.
Switzerland’s second largest lender posted a 353 million Swiss franc ($392.79 million) net loss for the fourth-quarter ater booking 757 million franc in legal charges. That compared with expectations for a 566 million franc loss in its own poll of 18 analysts. The result let annual profit down 22%.
The poll was compiled before the bank setled a legacy residential mortgage-backed security case for $80 million less than it had previously flagged.
The bank’s shares indicated up 0.5% in premarket activity .
“Despite a challenging environment for societies and economies in 2020, we saw a strong underlying performance across Wealth Management and Investment Banking, while addressing historic issues,” Chief Executive Thomas Gotstein said in a statement.
“Looking forward into 2021 and beyond, we aim to further accelerate growth in Wealth Management and deliver sustainable returns in Investment Banking.”
The earnings cap a tumultuous year for Credit
Suisse, which began with the ousting of Tidjane Thiam as chief executive over a spying scandal, and then the onset of the pandemic just as his replacement Gotstein took the helm.
Wealth managers have profited richly off bumper trading and client demand for greater counsel during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping rivals UBS Group AG and Julius Baer Gruppe AG post windfall gains. Credit Suisse, however, faced setbacks in its core business last year everywhere outside Asia.
Outside Asia, only Credit Suisse’s investment bank managed to post profit gain in 2020, as higher expected lending losses and headwind from negative interest rates and a strong Swiss franc bit into earnings.