Hypothesis has emerged in contemporary months that Credit score Suisse is also bearing in mind a capital elevate.
Thi My Lien Nguyen | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
Credit score Suisse Chairman Axel Lehmann denied any purpose to promote or merge the embattled Swiss lender after it reported a large second-quarter loss.
The financial institution posted a web lack of 1.593 billion Swiss francs ($1.66 billion) on Wednesday and introduced the rapid resignation of CEO Thomas Gottstein, who might be changed via asset control CEO Ulrich Koerner.
Credit score Suisse vowed to ramp up its efforts to overtake the crowd’s construction within the wake of mounting losses and a string of scandals — maximum significantly the Archegos hedge fund cave in — that experience ended in really extensive litigation prices.
Hypothesis has emerged in contemporary months that Credit score Suisse is also bearing in mind a capital elevate or even a imaginable sale of the corporate, however Lehmann informed CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore Wednesday that neither used to be within the playing cards.
“On capital, we reported, regardless of the loss nowadays, a CET1 ratio of 13.5%. I’m glad to look that quantity and we can information the marketplace additionally, in gentle of the uncertainty, that we’re surely going to protect our CET1 ratio till the tip of the yr, between 13 and 14%,” Lehmann mentioned. CET 1, or commonplace fairness tier one capital, ratio is a measure of a financial institution’s solvency.
“So I feel we’re just right on that one, and we can organize that very, very tightly.”
He additionally branded one of the vital hypothesis — such because the recommendation in a Swiss weblog early closing month that U.S. financial institution State Boulevard may well be readying a takeover bid for Credit score Suisse — as “slightly ridiculous.”
Requested if he had any plans to promote the corporate or merge with every other financial institution, Lehmann mentioned “that could be a transparent no.”
Credit score Suisse has introduced a strategic evaluate because it seems to chop prices, redirect its wealth and asset control operations and overhaul its compliance and possibility control purposes.
In Wednesday’s profits record, the financial institution mentioned it is going to supply additional main points at the development of the evaluate within the 0.33 quarter.
“We can be much more targeted going ahead on our wealth control franchise, multi-specialist asset supervisor and the very, very robust Swiss industry,” Lehmann mentioned.
“We can have a extremely aggressive banking industry and we can align the markets industry higher to serve the desires of our wealth control and Swiss shoppers.”
He added that the board needs to carry down its absolute charge base to not up to 15.5 billion Swiss francs within the medium time period.
Alternatively, Lehmann refused to be drawn on what number of activity losses this may occasionally entail, as an alternative promising extra detailed plans for the cost-cutting technique within the third-quarter profits.
