Credit Suisse Launches Radical Overhaul to Stabilize Bank

A sign of Switzerland's second largest bank Credit Suisse on a branch's building in downtown Geneva in a file photo from November 4, 2020. Fabrice Coffrini, AFP
A sign of Switzerland's second largest bank Credit Suisse on a branch's building in downtown Geneva in a file photo from November 4, 2020. Fabrice Coffrini, AFP
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Credit Suisse Launches Radical Overhaul to Stabilize Bank

A sign of Switzerland's second largest bank Credit Suisse on a branch's building in downtown Geneva in a file photo from November 4, 2020. Fabrice Coffrini, AFP
A sign of Switzerland's second largest bank Credit Suisse on a branch's building in downtown Geneva in a file photo from November 4, 2020. Fabrice Coffrini, AFP

Credit Suisse announced a radical series of measures Thursday aimed at turning around the beleaguered bank following huge third quarter losses, including revamping its investment banking unit, 9,000 job layoffs and raising fresh capital.

Switzerland's second-biggest bank launched a strategic review aimed at putting an end to a series of scandals that have shaken the institution, saying the results were intended to create "a simpler, more focused and more stable bank".

The Zurich-based bank said it was going for a "radical restructuring" of its investment bank, an accelerated cost-cutting effort, and strengthened and reallocated capital, "all of which are designed to create a new Credit Suisse".

The bank intends to raise capital worth four billion Swiss francs ($4 billion) through the issuance of new shares to qualified investors, AFP reported.

"Over 166 years, Credit Suisse has built a powerful and respected franchise but we recognize that in recent years we have become unfocused," chairman Axel Lehmann said in a statement.

He said the reassessment of the bank's future direction included "a radical strategy and a clear execution plan to create a stronger, more resilient and more efficient bank with a firm foundation, focused on our clients and their needs".

Lehmann said the bank will also work on further improving risk management and control processes across the entire bank, after a series of investments turned sour.

"I am convinced that this is the blueprint for success, helping rebuild trust and pride in the new Credit Suisse."

Credit Suisse also said expects to run the bank with approximately 43,000 staff by the end of 2025 compared to 52,000 at the end of September, "reflecting natural attrition and targeted headcount reductions".

The announcement came as the bank unveiled a third quarter net loss of $4.034 billion Swiss francs.

"This is a historic moment for Credit Suisse. We are radically restructuring the investment bank to help create a new bank that is simpler, more stable and with a more focused business model built around client needs," new chief executive Ulrich Koerner said in a statement.



US Starts Collecting Trump's New 10% Tariff

Cargo containers line a shipping terminal at the Port of Oakland on Friday, April 4, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Cargo containers line a shipping terminal at the Port of Oakland on Friday, April 4, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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US Starts Collecting Trump's New 10% Tariff

Cargo containers line a shipping terminal at the Port of Oakland on Friday, April 4, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Cargo containers line a shipping terminal at the Port of Oakland on Friday, April 4, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

US customs agents began collecting President Donald Trump's unilateral 10% tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday, with higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners due to start next week.
The initial 10% "baseline" tariff took effect at US seaports, airports and customs warehouses at 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT), ushering in Trump's full rejection of the post-World War Two system of mutually agreed tariff rates, Reuters reported.
"This is the single biggest trade action of our lifetime," said Kelly Ann Shaw, a trade lawyer at Hogan Lovells and former White House trade adviser during Trump's first term.
Shaw told a Brookings Institution event on Thursday that she expected the tariffs to evolve over time as countries seek to negotiate lower rates. "But this is huge. This is a pretty seismic and significant shift in the way that we trade with every country on earth," she added.
Trump's Wednesday tariff announcement shook global stock markets to their core, wiping out $5 trillion in stock market value for S&P 500 companies by Friday's close, a record two-day decline. Prices for oil and commodities plunged, while investors fled to the safety of government bonds. A US Customs and Border Protection bulletin to shippers indicates no grace period for cargoes on the water at midnight on Saturday.
But a US Customs and Border Protection bulletin did provide a 51-day grace period for cargoes loaded onto vessels or planes and in transit to the US before 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday. These cargoes need arrive to by 12:01 a.m. ET on May 27 to avoid the 10% duty.
At the same hour on Wednesday, Trump's higher "reciprocal" tariff rates of 11% to 50% are due to take effect. European Union imports will be hit with a 20% tariff, while Chinese goods will be hit with a 34% tariff, bringing Trump's total new levies on China to 54%.
Vietnam, which benefited from the shift of US supply chains away from China after Trump's first-term trade war with Beijing, will be hit with a 46% tariff and agreed on Friday to discuss a deal with Trump.
Canada and Mexico were exempt from both Trump's latest duties because they are still subject to a 25% tariff related to the US fentanyl crisis for goods that do not comply with the US-Mexico-Canada rules of origin.
Trump is excluding goods subject to separate, 25% national security tariffs, including steel and aluminum, cars, trucks and auto parts.
His administration also released a list of more than 1,000 product categories exempted from the tariffs. Valued at $645 billion in 2024 imports, these include crude oil, petroleum products and other energy imports, pharmaceuticals, uranium, titanium, lumber and semiconductors and copper. Except for energy, the Trump administration is investigating several of these sectors for further national security tariffs.