The Archegos loss, a goodwill impairment and provisions for litigation weighed on last year's results. The bank expects ongoing headwinds and keeps a key report under wraps.
The bank posted a pre-tax loss of 522 million Swiss francs ($565 million) for 2021, while its pre-tax loss in the fourth quarter was 1.6 billion francs, it said in a statement Thursday.
Restructuring and higher compensation costs will continue to affect business adversely this year, in what the bank calls a «transition year».
The bank expects benefits from cost-saving and its refocus on wealth management to show as from 2023. To accomplish this, the bank reiterated its goal of releasing $3 billion of the capital allocated to the investment bank and reinvesting in the Wealth Management division and other areas of the core business.
Unpublished Report
The bank will not publicly release a report it commissioned law firm Walder Wyss to investigate its Greensill business dealings, referring to the ongoing recovery process and the legal complexities of the matter. It has shared the completed report with the Finma and the board which has led to legal action being taken against individuals, it said.
Litigation provisions
The quarterly loss was mainly due to an impairment charge of goodwill of the same amount relating to the acquisition of the investment company Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette completed in 2000.
The bank also took provisions of 436 million francs in the fourth quarter for significant litigation issues, including Archegos.
Dividends
Consistent with the reduced dividend paid last year, the bank will recommend a cash dividend of 0.10 francs for 2021 at the annual general meeting April 29, reflecting a «prudent» distribution of capital for a challenging year, it said.
The bank will pay half of the distribution out of capital contribution reserves and the other half from retained earnings.
New Money
Credit Suisse was able to attract new assets of 2.7 billion francs to its international wealth management unit, up from 1.4 billion francs in the previous quarter. However, for the whole year new assets totaled 11.1 billion francs, down from 16.7 billion francs in 2020.
By contrast, new assets in the asset management division were relatively stable, with last year’s 14.6 billion francs roughly a billion francs shy of 2020’s inflows. The fourth quarter contributed 4.7 billion francs to the division's 2021 result.
Asia Pacific didn’t fare as well, with new assets down $3.2 billion in the fourth quarter, offsetting inflows of the same amount in the previous quarter.
Overall annual net outflows for the Asia Pacific region amounted to $1.3 billion after attracting $8.9 billion in 2020.
