Swiss banking giant sees profits fall

Profits at the Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse Group have been hit its US-based investment banking unit Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB).

Credit Suisse's net profit was 1.5bn Swiss francs (£629m; $890m) last year, down 73% on the previous year's results.

The bank blamed losses at its US investment bank unit CSFB for its poor performance.

CSFB was hit hard by the collapse of the energy trading giant Enron, the financial crisis in Argentine, and restructuring measures.

The investment banking unit reported a loss of 1.6bn Swiss francs in 2001 compared to 2.4bn francs profit a year earlier.

The figures were in line with analysts' expectations, as Credit Suisse Group issued a profit warning in January.

Lukas Muehlemann, the group's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement that "the global economic climate made 2001 a challenging year for the entire financial services industry."

The group said it expected the CSFB's revenues to fall further this year and promised to cut costs "aggressively".