LONDON — Credit Suisse swung to a better-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter of 2020, on the back of higher provisions for legal disputes.
The Swiss bank reported Thursday a net loss of 353 million Swiss francs ($392.8 million) for the fourth quarter of 2020. This was better than market expectations. According to Refinitiv, analysts had forecast a net loss of 558.5 million Swiss francs for the quarter and a net income of 2.8 billion Swiss francs for the year. Credit Suisse ended 2020 with a net income of 2.7 billion Swiss francs.
The Swiss bank had notified the markets in January that it would be sinking to a higher-than-expected loss in the final quarter of 2020 after setting aside $850 million for a legal dispute over property debt in the United States. Credit Suisse then agreed to a $600 million settlement last week.
Thomas Gottstein, chief executive officer of Credit Suisse, said a in a statement: “Despite a challenging environment for societies and economies in 2020, we saw a strong underlying performance across Wealth Management and Investment Banking, while addressing historic issues.”
Speaking to CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore Thursday, he said he was “very satisfied” with the results and that 2021 will be “the year where can look forward to growth.” “We had an excellent start, all five divisions are up,” Gottstein said.
Other highlights for the quarter:
CET 1 ratio, a measure of bank solvency, reached 12.9% from 12.7% a year ago.
Revenues stood at 5.2 billion Swiss francs, from 6.2 billion Swiss francs a year ago.
Total operating expenses were 5.2 billion Swiss francs, versus 4.8 billion at the end of 2019.
The bank’s wealth management division saw revenues down by 24% year-on-year in the fourth quarter. Global Investment Banking, on the other hand, reported a 19% year-on-year jump in revenues.
