Credit Suisse beats expectations

Credit Suisse posted a smaller-than-expected fall in second-quarter profits yesterday as Switzerland's second-biggest bank attracted more cash from the world's wealthy.The bank's net income fell 62 per cent to SFr1.2bn (£582m) but lighter asset write-downs than expected helped it beat forecasts easily. The numbers followed better-than-expected results from US banks, boosting hopes that the financial crisis could be receding.

Credit Suisse has reported billions of francs in losses from the credit crunch but has suffered less damage than many competitors, including its bigger Swiss rival UBS. Credit Suisse cheered investors with SFr15.4bn of net new wealth management funds, more than twice the forecast amount.