By Michael Shields, Noele Illien and John O’Donnell
ZURICH (Reuters) – Credit Suisse plans to raise 4 billion Swiss francs ($4 billion)of fresh capital by selling stock to new and existing investors, the Swiss bank said on Thursday, outlining an overhaul that will cut thousands of jobs as it exits some activities.
The bank said it aims to separate its investment bank to create CS First Boston, focused on advisory and capital markets, and hopes to attract third-party capital and a set up a partnership with the new Credit Suisse.
It will create a capital release unit to wind down non-strategic, higher risk businesses, it added.
Credit Suisse’s overhaul, aiming to put behind it the worst crisis in its history, is the third attempt in recent years by successive CEOs to turn around the embattled group, which on Thursday also reported a third-quarter loss of more than 4 billion francs.
Once a symbol for Swiss reliability, the bank’s reputation has been tarnished by a series of scandals, including an unprecedented prosecution at home for laundering money for a criminal gang.
The bank had been rushing to raise money and free up capital by selling assets, keen to limit how much cash it would have to raise from investors to fund its overhaul, handle its legacy litigation costs and retain a cushion for rough markets ahead.
Credit Suisse needs to revamp after a series of costly and morale-sapping blunders that triggered a wholesale change of management, a halt in dividend payments and an urgent rethink about its future.
($1 = 0.9858 Swiss francs)
(Writing by John O’Donnell; Editing by Michael Shields and Edmund Klamann)
