Credit Suisse to cut more costs in accelerated restructuring

Credit Suisse is now looking at job cuts of 6,000 for 2016.

Equities will remain "a core area of focus", Credit Suisse said, adding that it would continue to build on cash, prime and equity capital markets businesses, while exiting most of the distressed credit, European securitized product trading and long-term illiquid funding.

"Confronted with this, we have taken action", CEO Tidjane Thiam said.

The bank might post a first quarter net loss, said Thiam during a call with the media on Wednesday after he announced the second plan for restructuring in the past five months.

The ramped-up restructuring of the unit will entail 2,000 additional job cuts, the bank said.

Last month Credit Suisse said it would axe 4,000 roles and the latest round of cuts will reduce the number of staff in its investment bank arm to 6,000. About 2,800 have been implemented so far.

Specifically, the layoffs will impact the company's Global Markets unit. The company operates through two segments, Private Banking & Wealth Management and Investment Banking.

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The move mirrored a shift that had taken place previously at Swiss banking rival UBS Group AG. That investment bank had been mostly sustained, albeit with certain cuts over time, by Mr. Thiam's predecessor-former investment banker Brady Dougan.

Credit Suisse is also under fire after a former wealth manager who is now facing up to 10 years in prison allegedly defrauded clients for 6 years.

Thiam said: "Our capital position remains strong in spite of challenging market conditions". Those come on top of writedowns of $633m in the previous quarter. "A lot of our problems in the investment bank has been that people are trying to generate revenue at all costs, if I may say so, because you want just cover your fixed cost". Credit Suisse's Chief Financial Officer David Mathers had abruptly canceled an appearance at the same conference, sending Credit Suisse shares sharply lower. Thiam also has asked for his planned bonus to be reduced. In January, Thiam criticized the bank's compensation culture, saying it "does not work" because the revenue stream is cyclical and pay should therefore not be fixed.

This year alone, the bank is targeting 1.7 billion in cost savings, he said.

Investors appeared to welcome the bank's announcements, sending Credit Suisse shares up 1.90% to $15.03 in pre-market US trading.

In the statement on Wednesday Credit Suisse increased to "at least" Sf4.3bn its targeted savings by 2018, up from Sf3.5bn announced in October.