Credit Suisse Group AG offered investors a glimmer of good news alongside another profit warning, including a gain on the sale of a business and quickening cost cuts.
(Bloomberg) — Credit Suisse Group AG offered investors a glimmer of good news alongside another profit warning, including a gain on the sale of a business and quickening cost cuts.
Chief Executive Officer Ulrich Koerner said the bank is executing on its planned restructuring “at pace.” It expects an $800 million gain in the first quarter from the sale of its securitized products group to Apollo Global Management Inc. and said actions started in the final three months of last year should result in 80% of the 1.2 billion francs cost cuts targeted for 2023.
The Swiss bank, which cautioned that it expects another “significant” loss for this year, is in the throes of a complex turnaround plan that’s intended to reduce risk, spin out the best-performing parts of the investment bank and cut about 9,000 jobs by 2025. Koerner has vowed that the bank will be profitable again next year, even as he contends with trying to win back assets after record outflows.
The bank said its headcount, which stood at 51,680 at the end of September, fell by 1,200 in the final quarter and was down to about 49,000 if employees who’ve been notified their jobs are being cut are removed from the total.
A $4 billion share sale in the autumn and other measures have helped bolster the bank’s CET1 ratio to 14.1%, while the SPG sale to Apollo will likely add another 30 basis points in the first quarter. The acquisition of Michael Klein’s investment bank boutique, will have little impact on capital ratios, it said.
Credit Suisse’s acquisition of The Klein Group marks another step forward in the Swiss lender’s planned carve out of its key investment banking business under the First Boston brand. The veteran ex-Citigroup Inc. dealmaker is set to take charge of the business and the intention is to publicly list or spin off the unit by the end of 2024.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.