"UBS undoubtedly faces a major (and urgent) task in the deep restructuring of its former competitor," Andreas Venditti, an analyst at Vontobel, said in a market note.
During the first quarter, capital outflows reached 61.2 billion Swiss francs (62.5 billion euros), the bank acknowledging in a press release "significant (...) during the second half of March" which "slowed down but not yet reversed".
In a stock market commentary, analysts at Zürcher Kantonalbank noted exits "lower than feared". In the fourth quarter, Credit Suisse had already received CHF 110.5 billion in capital outflows.
These results, finally published on the eve of those of UBS, "reveal the poor state in which the firm is," added Mr. Venditti.
Under pressure from the Swiss authorities, UBS agreed on March 19 to take over Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs to prevent it from sinking.
In the first quarter, the bank posted a trompe-l'oeil net profit of CHF 12.4 billion, as a result of an accounting effect related to the acquisition by UBS.
To facilitate this takeover, the Swiss market supervisory authority, Finma, has reduced the value of the so-called AT1 (Additional Tier 1) risk bonds, introduced in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to strengthen banks' capital, to zero.
This decision has caused the stupor of holders of this type of bond, who normally arrive first in the order of repayment in the event of bankruptcy. Some have recently filed lawsuits against the regulator.
This net profit masks a pre-tax loss of CHF 1.3 billion after adjustments, Credit Suisse details. It still expects a "substantial" loss in the second quarter as well as for the whole of 2023, both at the group level and in its investment bank.
© 2023 AFP