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Tidjane Thiam revealed Credit Suisse's new strategy last October. The finews.com 12-month reality check in six points.

«Our strategy is a growth strategy; a profitable growth strategy. It will create value for our customers, generate capital, and over time deliver value to our key stakeholders – investors, clients and staff.» These were the words from Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam accompanying his strategy review of the bank last year.

Growth and value have taken a backseat since then. Thiam was forced into an unexpected hefty write-down in the first quarter of this year, and also revised some of the numbers behind his strategy. He has also had to cope with a slide in the bank's stock and a mutiny among Credit Suisse investment bankers.

The situation didn't ease until summer; Thursday's result is the second profitable one in succession. But is that enough for Thiam to meet his ambitiously laid out 2018 targets? A closer look at the key targets reveal that Credit Suisse has to get a move on.

1. Pushing Money Management

A leading private bank with strong investment banking capabilities is how Thiam sees Credit Suisse. At first glance, the bank has won the trust of the world's wealthy, winning 30.9 billion Swiss francs in net new money in the first nine months.

A comparison of managed assets on the year paints a different picture: Credit Suisse's assets fell 2 percent to 1.255 trillion.

Upshot: the inroads made thus far by Credit Suisse aren't yet those of a leading private bank.

2. Asia Growth

Thiam wins praise for Credit Suisse's business in Asia, where the bank is growing more quickly than rivals and making its name as a bank for entrepreneurs. Asia-Pacific managed 169 billion francs in the third quarter, one-fifth more than the prior year, and defended its place behind crosstown rival UBS and U.S.-based Citi.

Thus it's slightly bitter that the unit's pretax profit dropped from 162 million francs to 152 million.

Upshot: points to Thiam for Asia. Profitable growth however will take longer than he would like to achieve, due to considerable investments to ramp up the bank's business there, including in key staff.

3. Spruce Up Swiss Bank

Credit Suisse's Swiss Universal Bank, or SUB, will be hived off as a separate entity on Nov. 21 and the bank's plans to spin off a minority stake to investors next year is on track. Part of that means polishing the unit to a mirror finish, otherwise Credit Suisse risks taking in less money from listing the stake.

But the unit, led by investment banker Thomas Gottstein, didn't necessarily shine in the third quarter. While it improved profitability thanks to rigorous cost-cutting, it still faces the same headwinds – negative interest rates and trading-shy clients – as other finance firms. Interest income was stable, but outflows ate into net new money: the bank showed just 200 million francs in fresh funds, from 3 billion last year.

Upshot: SUB's profitability is commendable, but investors will want to see long-term growth opportunities when the stock is listed – these aren't yet identifiable.