“Credit Suisse Group AG, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, raised its target for cost reductions for a third time in seven months as it posted fourth-quarter earnings that fell short of analysts’ estimates.
Credit Suisse will seek an additional 400 million Swiss francs ($441 million) in cost savings by the end of 2015, on top of 4 billion francs in planned cuts announced since 2011, the Zurich-based company said today.
Chief Executive Officer Brady Dougan said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that the measures the bank has already taken put it in a position to “thrive” regardless of market conditions. The company’s fourth-quarter net income of 397 million francs compared with a year-earlier loss and the 647.6 million-franc estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
“We’re coming into 2013 very well positioned, having done a lot of hard work of reducing costs, of reducing our risk- weighted assets,” Dougan, 53, said in the interview. “We really have a business model that’s ready to perform I think quite well and resiliently in 2013 and beyond.”
Credit Suisse was down 0.9 percent to 26.77 francs by 2 p.m. Before today, the stock had risen 59 percent over the past six months, compared with a 26 percent gain in the 40-companyBloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index.
