Credit Suisse posts 1st fourth-quarter loss since '08

The bank said Thursday that its net loss in the fourth quarter amounted to 637 million Swiss francs (US$698 million), way down on analysts' expectations for a more modest loss of 431 million francs.

In the equivalent period in 2010, Credit Suisse posted a 841-million-franc profit.

Brady W. Dougan, chief executive officer of a bank that has some 50,000 staff around the world and manages more than US$1 trillion in assets, blamed the loss on tough market conditions and aggressive cuts in costs and risks, including the need to meet a new requirement that it hold more capital.

“Our performance for the fourth quarter 2011 was disappointing,” Dougan said. “It reflects both the adverse market conditions during the period and the impact of the measures we have taken to swiftly adapt our business to the evolving market and regulatory requirements.”

Dougan said an acceleration in its restructuring program cost the bank almost 1 billion francs in the last quarter.

One of the most important changes stems from Credit Suisse's attempt to cut the risk profile of it investment bank division. In November, Credit Suisse had said that by the end of 2014 it would cut risk-weighted assets by 110 billion francs, mostly from the investment bank's fixed-income unit.

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