These are probably the last quarterly figures that the Swiss central bank will present before the takeover by UBS.
(Photo: dpa)
Zurich Credit Suisse clients continue to withdraw assets from the troubled bank on a large scale. In the period from January to March, the outflow of funds amounted to 61.2 billion francs net, as the institute announced on Monday. That is the equivalent of 62.39 billion euros.
The outflow of funds was particularly high in the days just before the state-ordered emergency takeover by competitor UBS on March 19. They continue at a lower level, “a trend reversal was not observed until April 24,” the bank continues in its statement.
In mid-March, Credit Suisse had to be supported by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) with extensive liquidity assistance. At the end of March, outstanding loans amounted to CHF 108 billion. Credit Suisse has already repaid a further 70 billion in liquidity assistance.
The bottom line after three months was a net profit of 12.4 billion francs. However, this special gain is solely due to the write-down of subordinated interest-bearing securities, so-called AT1 bonds. Without this measure ordered by the financial regulator Finma, a loss of CHF 1.3 billion would have been incurred.
Assets under management melted to CHF 1.253 trillion from CHF 1.294 trillion at the end of 2022. The core business, wealth management, in particular, is suffering from the loss of customer confidence. Within three months, customers withdrew nine percent of the assets under management at the end of 2022.
The core business is eroding
This also clouds the future prospects for the business, which is to be merged into UBS in the future. Recurring commissions and fees, one of the most important metrics in wealth management, fell 17 percent. Against this background, Credit Suisse wrote off intangible goodwill in the division amounting to CHF 1.3 billion.
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The investment bank was able to limit its losses somewhat compared to the same quarters of the previous year, but continued to burn more than 300 million francs in the first three months of the year. Only the Swiss universal bank delivered a positive pre-tax result of CHF 313 million. The division is by far the most crisis-resistant business area and has always yielded stable income despite the long-term crisis.
For the second quarter and for the year as a whole, the bank announced a significant pre-tax loss. UBS plans to publish its quarterly results on Tuesday.
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