Credit Suisse posts record loss after US fine

Credit Suisse reported its biggest-ever quarterly loss yesterday after it pleaded guilty and paid $2.6bn (£1.5bn) to the US Department of Justice over aiding tax evasion in May.

“I want to reiterate that we deeply regret the past misconduct that led to this settlement and that we take full responsibility for it,” its chief executive Brady Dougan said. He went on to say the deal had not destroyed customer loyalty.

“The continued trust and support of our clients helped us mitigate the impact of the settlement on our business.”

The bank, Switzerland’s second biggest, which employs 7,500 people in London, made a loss of Sfr749m (£487m) in the three months to June. Even without the DoJ deal, profits were down 13 per cent at Sfr882m.

Mr Dougan said: “During the quarter, we continued to see good momentum with clients, while at the same time making further progress in winding-down our non-strategic units.”

But he admitted that both wealth management and investment banking had suffered from subdued trading by clients in some financial markets.