Credit Suisse Group said Thursday that second-quarter profit rose 48 percent on strong growth at its investment banking unit, AP reported. Switzerland's second-largest bank said net profit for the three months through June 30 increased to 3.2 billion Swiss francs (US$2.65 billion; ¤1.94 billion) from 2.16 billion francs a year ago. Analysts had predicted only a modest rise in profits to 2.26 billion francs (US$1.88 billion; ¤1.38 billion). Pre-tax income from Credit Suisse's investment banking unit rose 94 percent to 2.5 billion francs (US$2.1 billion; ¤1.52 billion) in the second quarter compared to 1.29 billion francs in the same period of 2006. «I am particularly pleased with our performance given the fact that we had more challenging conditions in some markets, which we expect to continue,» Credit Suisse CEO Brady Dougan said in a statement. «However, I am very optimistic about the long-term growth prospects for Credit Suisse, and I believe that our client-focused, integrated business model and disciplined risk-taking will enable us to deliver superior value to shareholders through market cycles,» he said. European banks have been among those suffering due to the current crisis in the U.S. sub-prime mortgage market. Investors appeared to welcome the results, with Credit Suisse shares rising 2.4 percent to 81.90 francs (US$68.06; ¤49.81) in Zurich. Analysts at Zuercher Kantonalbank predicted an 8 billion franc (US$6.65 billion; ¤4.87 billion) share buyback program would be completed in 2008, rather than 2010 as planned. Credit Suisse said it generated 13.3 billion francs (US$11.05 billion; ¤8.09 billion) in net new assets for its wealth management business, while its asset management business grew by 20.4 billion francs (US$16.95 billion; ¤12.41 billion). The bank said it managed a total of 1.63 trillion francs by June 30, a 5 percent increase compared with March 31. New assets are a closely watched indicator for Swiss banks because they point to future revenue.
