Credit Suisse suffers a net loss of nearly 7.3 billion Swiss francs in 2022

The bank Credit Suisse, which is trying to recover from a series of resounding and costly scandals, will still be clearly in the red in 2023 after having already suffered 7.3 billion Swiss francs (nearly 7.4 billion euros) net losses in 2022. This is its biggest loss since the 2008 financial crisis, when Switzerland's second largest banking institution suffered a loss of more than 8 billion francs.

And this year, it still expects a “

” pre-tax loss taking into account restructuring costs, which should amount to some 1.6 billion Swiss francs in 2023 and 1 billion in 2024, according to a press release published on Thursday.

"

", reacted Andreas Venditti, analyst at Vontobel, in a stock market commentary, stressing that it is "

”.

"

," he said.

In October, the bank unveiled a vast restructuring project to refocus on its most stable activities, which are wealth management, asset management and its retail and business services branch for the Swiss market.

In investment banking, its capital markets and advisory activities are to be brought together in an entity to become independent, renamed CS First Boston, named after an American investment bank absorbed in 1990.

“

,” said its managing director, Ulrich Körner, quoted in the press release.

Its restructuring project had however been at the heart of intense speculation in October which had scared away its customers.

In the fourth quarter alone, capital withdrawals amounted to 110.5 billion Swiss francs.

"

," CFO Dixit Joshi said on a conference call, however, explaining that capital outflows were mostly concentrated in October but slowed in December.

A new step for its investment bank

In the last quarter, its loss amounted to nearly 1.4 billion francs, less heavy than feared.

In November, the bank issued a profit warning due to restructuring charges, lower capital markets activity and customer departures, saying it expected a loss of up to 1,000. 5 billion francs.

By comparison, analysts polled by the Swiss agency AWP expected an average of 1.44 billion francs.

In the last quarter of 2022, the group's investment bank suffered a pre-tax loss of $1.3 billion, compared to a loss of $184 million in the fourth quarter a year earlier, reflecting the slowdown in capital markets as the mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings suffered from market volatility.

At 8:47 a.m. GMT, the title, which was heavily heckled on the stock market in the last quarter, lost 5.35% to 3.078 Swiss francs, weighing on the SMI, the benchmark index of the Swiss stock exchange, down 0.11%.

Since the March 2021 bankruptcy of the British financial company Greensill, which marked the start of the tremors, the stock has lost more than 75% of its value.

Read alsoApollo in talks to invest in Credit Suisse investment bank

However, the bank has taken a step forward in its plans for its investment bank.

On the sidelines of its results, it announced the acquisition of the investment banking business of M. Klein & Company, for 175 million dollars.

In October, the bank announced that Michael Klein, a former Citigroup investment banker, would leave the board of directors of Credit Suisse to participate in the establishment of CS First Boston, of which he is to take over the management.

SEE

- "

", says François Villeroy de Galhau