GENEVA (AP) _ Credit Suisse Group announced Tuesday that it will cut about 1,500 more staff globally and reorganize its securities unit after reporting weak third-quarter net profits of 683 million Swiss francs ($785 million).
Switzerland's second-biggest bank said it will cut 3 percent from its 50,700 staff globally by the end of 2013 in a quarterly report that follows weak earnings across the banking industry this season due to low trading activity.
The results were a 12 percent improvement over a year ago in the same quarter when Credit Suisse reported exceptionally weak net profits of 609 million francs (then $621.4 million).
They were helped by an accounting gain from widening credit spreads, the bank said in a statement.
But analysts had predicted Credit Suisse might report earnings of about 900 million francs ($1 billion) or more this quarter.
“The performance was below our expectations,” chief financial officer David Mathers told reporters.
He said the “incremental 3 percent reductions” would fall evenly across divisions.
The staff reductions come on top of previous cuts announced in July when the bank reported it would eliminate more than 2,000 jobs after quarterly profits dropped by half, more than expected, due to a strong Swiss franc and a plunge in trading and investment banking earnings.
Chief executive Brady Dougan said the third quarter presented “a challenging environment with a high degree of uncertainty, low levels of client activity across businesses and extreme market volatility.”
Despite warning that these challenges could persist, he said the job cuts and other cost-savings and business strategies made the bank “well equipped for this environment” and give it “substantial opportunity for growth and stronger performance as economic and market conditions improve.”
The Zurich-based bank has yet to close the book on a U.S. tax evasion probe and announced that it had set aside 295 million francs in connection with that matter. It also said it had set aside 183 million francs (euros150 million) in connection with a German tax probe.
<한글 기사>
크레디트스위스, 1천500명 감원 발표
스위스의 제2은행인 크레디트스위스가 전 세계적으로 직 원 1천500여명을 감축할 예정이라고 1일(현지시간) 발표했다.
크레디트스위스는 이날 시장 전망치에 크게 못 미치는 3분기 실적을 발표하면서, 2013년 말까지 직원 5만700명의 3%에 대해 구조조정을 하겠다고 밝혔다.
이날 크레디트스위스가 발표한 3분기 실적은 순이익 6억8천300만 스위스프랑(약 7억8천500만 달러)이다.
이는 크레디트스위스의 3분기 순이익이 9억 스위스프랑을 넘어설 것이라는 시장 의 전망치를 크게 밑도는 수준이다.
브래디 더건 크레디트스위스 최고경영자(CEO)는 3분기 저조한 실적이 "높아진 (시장의) 불확실성과 극심한 시장불안을 보여준다"면서, 자사가 이 같은 시장 환경에 대응하는 데 인원감축이 도움이 될 것이라고 말했다.
크레디트스위스는 앞서 7월에도 2천명 규모의 구조조정을 단행하겠다고 발표한 바 있다.
