The Swiss bank's CEO cited a sturdier second-quarter – apparently in large part due to its dealings with wealthy clients.
«Those early indications that we have seen now in the last couple of weeks have been actually quite promising and going in the right direction,» Credit Suisse boss Thomas Gottstein told investors at an annual brokerage conference hosted by Goldman Sachs, «Reuters» and «AWP» (in German) reported.
After massive market ructions in March, when the coronavirus outbreak spread to most of Europe as well as the U.S., «things really calmed down in April and they continue to be quite robust in May and June,» Gottstein said.
The remarks represent the first anecdotal evidence of how wealth managers are navigating the economic and financial crisis sparked by the pandemic. Gottstein noted that Credit Suisse's private bank was able to offset lower revenue – due to the fall in value of its assets – through trading commissions.
Targets in Question
Credit Suisse expressed skepticism over its return on tangible equity target – set last year at between ten and 11 percent for this year, and 12 percent further out. The Zurich-based bank last month turned skittish on the targets due to the crisis (ROTE stood at 9 percent last year, from 5 percent in 2018).
The nervousness won't keep Credit Suisse from plowing ahead with the second half of a planned payout for 2019, which had been held by on regulatory orders earlier this year. Gottstein noted that the bank would consider also restarting share buybacks, which had been suspended, depending on second- and third-quarter performance.
