Switzerland’s investor confidence deteriorated further in April, survey data from the investment bank Credit Suisse and the CFA Society Switzerland showed Wednesday.
The Credit Suisse CFA Society Switzerland Indicator that reflects expectations of financial analysts for the economy in the coming six months, fell to 7.2 points from 16.7 in March. This was the lowest since October 2016, RTTNews reported.
The majority of respondents do not expect any major changes to the economic situation in Switzerland over the next six months. The majority of analysts are expecting a continuation of the euro rally. The risk of a trade war was considered generally low.
Further, the survey showed that the majority of analysts surveyed anticipate higher long-term interest rates in Switzerland. Furthermore, around half the survey participants expect a rising inflation rate in Switzerland and the eurozone over the next six months.
Meanwhile, Credit Suisse delivered its best quarterly results on Wednesday since Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam launched his restructuring plan for Switzerland’s second-biggest bank in 2016, driven by its wealth management business.
After 6.6 billion Swiss francs ($6.7 billion) of losses in 2015 and 2016, and a big tax writedown that wiped out gains last year, Credit Suisse posted 694 million francs in first-quarter net income, beating expectations.
The results showed the bank gaining from Thiam’s three-year plan to focus on wealth management over investment banking and settle legal cases.
“With these first-quarter results, we got off to a good start in our third and final year of restructuring, and we are looking ahead to the future with confidence in our new business model and in our execution capabilities,” Thiam said in a statement.
The bank’s shares were up 4.9% at 16.985 francs in early trade as markets welcomed the results. The stock still trades well below the level when Thiam took over, but has been steadily recovering from a low of 9.4 francs in mid-2016.
