Credit Suisse bank.
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LONDON – Credit Suisse made a better-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter of 2020, due to higher provision for legal disputes.
The Swiss bank on Thursday reported a net loss of 353 million Swiss francs ($ 392.8 million) for the fourth quarter of 2020. It was better than the market expectations. According to Refinitiv, analysts forecast a net loss of 558.5 million Swiss francs for the quarter and a net income of 2.8 billion Swiss francs for the year. Credit Suisse ended 2020 with a net income of 2.7 billion Swiss francs.
The Swiss bank informed the markets in January that it would decline in the last quarter of 2020 with a higher-than-expected loss after setting aside $ 850 million for a legal dispute over property debt in the United States. Credit Suisse then agreed to a $ 600 million settlement last week.
Credit Suisse CEO Thomas Gottstein said in a statement: “Despite a challenging environment for societies and economies by 2020, we have seen a strong underlying performance in Wealth Management and Investment Banking, while our historic addressed issues. “
Other highlights for the term:
- CET 1 ratio, a measure of bank solvency, reached 12.9% from 12.7% a year ago.
- Revenue is 5.2 billion Swiss francs, compared to 6.2 billion Swiss francs a year ago.
- Total operating expenses were 5.2 billion Swiss francs, compared to 4.8 billion at the end of 2019.
The bank’s wealth management division fell 24% year-on-year in the fourth quarter. Global Investment Banking, on the other hand, reported a 19% return on an annualized basis.
Pandemic caution
Back in January, Credit Suisse also announced that it would buy between 1 billion and 1.5 billion Swiss francs from its own shares from 1 January. The bank has now added that it will pay a dividend of 0.2926 Swiss francs per share in proportion to its 2020 results.
In the future, Credit Suisse sounded cautious at the back of the pandemic. “We will warn that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet, and despite continued fiscal and monetary stimuli, the pace of recovery remains uncertain,” the moneylender said in a statement.
The share price has risen by about 12% since the beginning of the year.