Credit Suisse records Q4 loss of 2.35b francs on litigation charge

Zurich

CREDIT Suisse Group AG posted a fourth-quarter loss of 2.35 billion francs (S$3.3 billion) after taking a charge to settle a US investigation into the role of its mortgage securities business in the 2008 financial crisis. For the full year 2016, the bank incurred a net loss of 2.44 billion francs.

The bank is set to cut up to 6,500 jobs this year in a bid to cut costs. "We're setting a target now of between 5,500 and 6,500 for 2017," chief financial officer David Mathers said in a call with analysts on Tuesday after the bank published earnings.

The Q4 setback, resulting in the second consecutive annual loss for the Swiss bank, was bigger than the 2.07 billion franc loss predicted on average by seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The bank put aside 2.17 billion francs to top up lega…