FX.co ★ Credit Suisse continues its restructurization

The situation at the beleaguered Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse Group AG is now steadily improving. Thanks to income from selling its assets and accelerated spending cuts, the company might post a profit in the first quarter of 2023, its latest earnings report said.

Ulrich Koerner, the CEO of Credit Suisse Group AG, stated that the bank's restructurization is going on at an acceptable pace. The company expects to make a profit of $800 million in the first quarter from the sale of its securitized products group to Apollo Global Management Inc. Furthermore, Credit Suisse said that its cost-cutting measures launched in the final three months of 2022 should reduce costs by 80% of its 1.2 billion franc target for 2023.

However, the Swiss bank warned that it expected to take considerable losses this year until the comprehensive restructuring plan is finished. The plan would reduce risk, carve out the most efficient sections of the investment division, and slash some 9,000 jobs by the end of 2025. Koerner promised that the bank would be profitable again next year in an effort to regain a portion of the assets lost after last year's record outflows.

The bank said its headcount, which stood at 51,680 at the end of September, had already fallen by 1,200 in the previous quarter, dropping to about 49,000.

Bank analysts said the $4 billion stock sale in autumn 2022 combined with other measures helped lift the bank's CET1 ratio to 14.1%, while the sale of SPG to Apollo is likely to add another 30 basis points in the first quarter.

Credit Suisse's acquisition of The Klein Group marks another step forward in exiting its key investment banking business under the First Boston brand. The former Citigroup Inc. dealer will take over that investment banking business, which will be publicly listed and spun off by the end of 2024.

The company's stock shed 0.86% yesterday and has already dropped by more than 7.0% in pre-market trading today.

On the technical side, demand for risky assets clearly remains steady. The S&P 500 index can continue to advance, but for that, it would need to settle above $4,150. Another key goal for bulls is holding on to $4,180, which would maintain the upside momentum of the index and allow the S&P 500 to surge towards $4,208. Above this level lies $4,229, which would be a strong obstacle for the index. If the S&P 500 move downwards and bullish traders fail to hold on to $4,116, the index will quickly slump towards $4,090, opening the way towards $4,064.