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Iqbal Khan had polished the main private banking arm into a jewel of Credit Suisse’s crown before bolting for UBS. Broadly, nothing changed for the unit in its first full quarter under Khan's successor, Philipp Wehle. The fund platform disposal smoothed things, without which Wehle would have recorded flat revenue and never reached the 43 percent hike in profits before tax or the dreamy 118-basis-point margin.

But the unit still sparkles: its margin minus the fund sale of 103 bps beats rivals and its cost-income ratio this year of 63.8 percent is very competitive. Detractors are right to question net new money growth, which was driven by asset management. At the wealth unit, Europeans continued to pull funds out.

7. Swiss Franc Woes

Wealthy Swiss clients are prickly about banks handing down negative interest, it appears, Credit Suisse’s domestic unit had only just warned that it would begin levying charges of deposits of 2 million francs and up when withdrawals began. Its Swiss private bank lost 600 million francs as a result of the move. It also notched up 3.9 billion in fresh money too. The in- and outflows underscore the how dicey it is to be tough on clients in the fiercely competitive Swiss market – and shows another side of the «profitable» client story.

8. Waiting for Aramco

Trading may be booming but Credit Suisse’s investment bank is hurting: the unit swung to a loss as leveraged finance, M&A, and initial public offerings sputtered. The unit has a lot riding on the imminent IPO of Saudi Aramco: at upwards of $20 billion for listing just one to two percent, the listing is set to be one of the largest-ever.

Credit Suisse hired Goldman Sachs star Hazem Shawki, who has worked for Aramco in the past, this month. Other hires including tech and healthcare industry bankers also hit the unit’s cost-cutting efforts.

9. Asia Pallid

Asia needed the nearly 100 million franc boost from its share of Investlab’s sale: its revenue tumbled 14 percent on the quarter amid a dramatic slide in debt trading. Regional boss Helman Sitohang braced for the default of Indian infrastructure developer IL&FS with a 19 million franc hit.

The veteran banker also showed his command of Thiam’s spending playbook: the unit kept a lid on costs despite adding 60 bankers since June (10 of them wealth managers). It remains to be seen whether Sitohang can turn a 5 billion franc heavier loan book – and more risk-weighted assets – into sustainable revenue.