Credit Suisse reports profit plunge

GENEVA, Apr 17 (AFP): Following the news, the bank saw its stock price slide nearly two per cent to 27.28 francs a pop in midday trading on the Swiss stock exchange, whose main SMI index rose 0.53 per cent.

Credit Suisse's struggles were largely attributed to its investment bank, which saw its pre-tax profit plummet 36 per cent to 827 million Swiss francs, "amid challenging market conditions," it said.

A 21-per cent year-on-year slump in its bond-trading activities contributed to a large portion of that fall, but its stock-trading business also fell 8.0 per cent.

Countering that downward drag, Credit Suisse's private banking and wealth management division saw its pre-tax profits jump 15 per cent from a year ago to 1.01 billion Swiss francs.