This past week hasn’t been filled with optimism for Swiss banks or Swizterland as a nation. Tuesday saw UBS posting biggest loss in Swiss corporate history to date燼nd just a day later Credit Suisse Group announced a full-year 2008 net loss of CHF 8.2 billion or $7.1 billion.

Credit Suisse Group reported a loss from continuing operations of CHF 7,687 million in the full year 2008 compared with income from continuing operations of CHF 7,754 million in 2007. Excluding costs after tax from the accelerated implementation of the strategic plan, the full-year 2008 loss from continuing operations was CHF 7,100 million. Core net revenues were CHF 11,862 million in 2008 compared with CHF 34,539 million in 2007.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, the loss from continuing operations excluding costs after tax from the accelerated implementation of the strategic plan was CHF 4,899 million, compared with income from continuing operations of CHF 530 million in the prior-year period. The fourth-quarter net loss was CHF 6,024 million compared with net income of CHF 540 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. The fourth-quarter net loss included a loss from discontinued operations of CHF 538 million relating to the disposal of part of the Asset Management business. Core net revenues were a negative CHF 1,830 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with a positive CHF 6,458 million in the prior-year period.

Brady W. Dougan, Chief Executive Officer, said: “While our full-year results are clearly disappointing, we entered 2009 with a very strong capital position, a robust business model, a clear strategy and well-positioned businesses. In a year of unprecedented market turmoil, our Private Banking business recorded strong asset inflows, underscoring the trust that clients place in Credit Suisse. Our global Wealth Management business performed well and our Swiss Corporate & Retail Banking business achieved record pre-tax income. In Investment Banking, we continued to reduce our overall risk. Illiquid leveraged finance and structured products assets as of the end of 2008 declined 87% from the end of the third quarter of 2007. We now have a capital-efficient and streamlined Investment Banking business with a significantly lower risk profile. And in Asset Management, we took an important step in our strategy to focus our resources on alternative investments, asset allocation and our Swiss businesses. These are scalable, high-margin businesses that provide excellent investment opportunities for our clients.”

He added: “Credit Suisse has one of the strongest capital ratios in the industry, which we achieved without significantly diluting shareholders. We accelerated the implementation of our strategic plan, which will bring about a further substantial reduction of our risk and cost base. We also took steps to further strengthen our control culture. We have had a strong start to 2009 and were profitable across all divisions year to date. We have positioned our businesses to be less susceptible to negative market trends if they persist in the coming months and to prosper when markets recover.”

Unlike the larger bank, however, Credit Suisse has so far not resorted to a bailout offer from the Swiss government. Instead the Group has discussed raising approximately 10 billion francs ($8.26 billion) from from a group of international investors led by the Qatar Investment Authority.

Image by acebal under Creative Commons.