Credit Suisse suffers significant Q2 losses after US tax fine

Credit Suisse, the second largest bank in Switzerland, suffered a net loss of 700 million Swiss francs (776 million U.S. dollars) in the second quarter of 2014, according to its latest financial report released Tuesday.
The biggest quarterly loss for the bank since 2008 was mainly due to the fine of 2.6 billion U.S. dollars to U.S. authorities after it pleaded guilty in May to violating U.S. tax law and helping clients evade taxes.
Statistics showed that in the first half of 2014, the core pre-tax income of the Zurich-based bank was 3.7 billion Swiss francs for strategic businesses and return on equity of 13 percent.
Brady W. Dougan, chief executive officer of Credit Suisse, said in a statement that the reported results of the bank for the second quarter and the first half of 2014 were impacted by the resolution of its most significant legacy litigation issue.
"With the final settlement of all outstanding U.S. cross-border matters as announced in May, we brought to a close the most significant and longstanding litigation issue for Credit Suisse," said Dougan.
"I want to reiterate that we deeply regret the past misconduct that led to this settlement and that we take full responsibility for it. The continued trust and support of our clients helped us mitigate the impact of the settlement on our business," he added.
The bank also announced its decision to exit commodities trading to focus resources on more profitable areas of its business and to further enhance capital and operating efficiencies.
"The restructuring of our macro business, including the exit from commodities trading, is expected to drive further capital, leverage and expense reductions," stated Dougan.