Credit Suisse profit doubles amid rise in wealth management business
Profits at Credit Suisse more than doubled during the last three months following a robust performance in its flagship wealth management arm.
The Swiss lender reported net profits of SFr751m for the third quarter, jumping 108 per cent when compared with the same period in the previous year.
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“We have continued, in a challenging environment, to grow our wealth management franchises, increasing our revenues and gathering record net new assets,” said chief executive Tidjane Thiam.
Revenue at the firm’s key wealth management division climbed five per cent as inflows from high net-worth clients hit SFr9.5bn.
However, the group said that it expected headwinds from the “ongoing challenging geopolitical environment” to persist into the final quarter of 2019.
Credit Suisse’s return on tangible equity—a key measure of profitability — is nine per cent, but the group is aiming to reach 10-11 per cent this year.
Read more: Standard Chartered beats expectations as profits jump
Wealth management at the firm has been overshadowed in the last month following a botched spying scandal that has rocked the world of Swiss banking.
Pressure on Thiam has been mounting after news that Iqbal Khan, the firm’s wealth management star banker who left in July to join arch-rival UBS, had been followed by detectives.
Chief operating officer Pierre-Olivier Bouee has stepped down after an internal probe found that he alone initiated surveillance of Khan.