Unfettered by the pandemic, Credit Suisse delivered stellar results in the second quarter which resulted in the highest first-half net income achieved in a decade.
Credit Suisse had a profit of 2.5 billion Swiss francs in the first half of 2020, according to a statement, marking a 47 percent year-on-year increase.
The result of the second-largest bank in Switzerland exceeded analysts' expectations by a substantial margin, helped by its business in Asia and by brisk trading activities. The latter had surged following the volatility prompted by the pandemic.
Light and Shadow
Despite the crisis, the Swiss business also had a stable development and pretax was slightly up on the first half of 2019.
International wealth management, by contrast, was down on the previous year while the investment banking business suffered from the difficulties encountered on the market. The division had another loss to report.
Dividend Payment as Planned
The management of the Swiss bank is said to be very satisfied with the result of the first half and plans to pay the full 0.2776 francs per share dividend it had originally planned to pay.
Hence, the supervisory board will propose to pay shareholders the second installment of 0.1388 francs per share. Shareholders will vote on the proposal at an extraordinary meeting on November 27, 2020.
Savings Program
The board will also consider a further share buyback for 2020 after the meeting in November, the company said.
Credit Suisse on Thursday announced a new restructuring bid of the company. It hopes to achieve cost savings of about 400 million francs annually starting in 2022, money to be reinvested in growth initiatives, as the company said.
