Credit Suisse posted its highest quarterly earnings in four years on Wednesday, hailing frugal cost management as paying off in a tough environment.
Switzerland's second-biggest bank raised earnings 45 per cent in the second quarter through June, well beyond expectations, as costs continued to come down half a year after it wrapped up a three-year overhaul.
"Part of our strategy has been to reduce our fixed costs very heavily, and I think we did that at the right time," chief executive Tidjane Thiam said.
"Our view from the start was that it's always going to be a stagnant industry, so we had to take our cost down very severely," he said.
"We're also lucky because we came out with that new platform just at the time when many others are restructuring, and we're benefiting from that," Mr Thiam added.
Credit Suisse shares, which had dropped on Tuesday to their lowest in a month, rose 5 per cent by 11.29 UAE time with analysts noting a clear beat in Global Markets, the capital-heavy trading division which the bank downsized during its overhaul, and solid inflows of fresh client money, an indicator of future earnings for private banks.
"We view these as strong results," Citi analysts wrote in a note. "Global Markets has been the main cause of consensus earnings downgrades over the past 18 months, but has now shown signs of recovery for a second consecutive quarter."
The Zurich-based lender's revenue remained largely flat during the quarter, with a jump in trading income helping offset a slide in its corporate advisory business.
The bank nonetheless confirmed its ambitions this year to reach a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of bewteen 10 per cent and 11 per cent - double the 5.5 per cent it hit in 2018 - which it aims to achieve through reduced costs and lower tax rates, and which assumes flat revenue for the year.
Geopolitical twists have created a rocky backdrop for private and investment banks, with transaction levels and client sentiment susceptible to uncertainties ranging from central bank rate cuts to Chinese-US trade relations and Brexit.
Rival UBS last week posted a 1 per cent net profit rise as strength in its Swiss business helped offset weakness in wealth management. Tepid trading from wealthy clients saw adjusted profit slide 19 per cent at Julius Baer.
At Credit Suisse a 937 million Swiss franc (Dh3.47bn) net profit was well ahead of the bank's own consensus for 788m francs.
Revenues from equity sales and trading rose 3 per cent, with management pointing to further gains in market share. Fixed-income sales and trading revenues rose 11 per cent, both ahead of peers.
The bank gave a mixed outlook, saying it had seen healthy levels of client engagement thus far in the third quarter, but adding market conditions would impact whether that engagement ultimately translated into a pickup in activity.
England squads for Test and T20 series against New Zealand
Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes
T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Pat Brown, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, James Vince
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
On racial profiling at airports
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
The%20Specs
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
RESULT
Los Angeles Galaxy 2 Manchester United 5
Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')
FIXTURES
All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Sevilla v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad (7.15pm)
Eibar v Valencia (9.30pm)
Atletico Madrid v Alaves (11.45pm)
Sunday
Girona v Getafe (3pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7.15pm)
Las Palmas v Espanyol (9.30pm)
Barcelona v Deportivo la Coruna (11.45pm)
Monday
Malaga v Real Betis (midnight)
