Credit Suisse posts jump in second-quarter profits

Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse on Thursday said its second-quarter profit had risen by 32% from a year ago to 1.04 billion francs (840,000 euros, $1.1 billion), largely thanks to a strong trading performance. The result beat expectations by analysts polled by Swiss business news agency AWP, who had predicted an average net profit of around 1.01 billion francs. Pre-tax profits jumped by 38% to 1.53 billion francs, the group said in a statement. In its private banking and wealth management divisions, net revenue remained stable at 3.4 billion francs, with an increase in revenue from financial transactions and higher fees offsetting lower incomes from other products. The bank, which has embarked on a major restructuring, said it had made savings of 2.7 billion francs and was on track to achieve its goal of reducing spending by 4.4 billion francs by the end of 2015. Over the past three months, Credit Suisse has cut an additional 600 jobs, leaving it with a global workforce of 46,300 staff. The bank's second-quarter results mirrored the recent spike in profits reported by US investment banks.