Credit Suisse plans to raise £3bn in funds as company returns to profit

Credit Suisse announced on Wednesday (April 26) that it will issue a total of 379,981,340 shares to raise CHF 4bn (£3bn) in funds.

The bank recently announced that its first quarter profits rose to CHF 596m as compared to a CHF 302m loss posted last year. The Board of Directors said that the Swiss lender would maintain full ownership of firm and eventually transition to all-cash dividend.

Urs Rohner, chairman of the Board of Credit Suisse, explained that the shares issue and the board's retention of full ownership would "result in significant value creation for shareholders over time".

CEO Tidjane Thiam justified the move and said that the bank would boost investment in lucrative growth opportunities, improve its balance sheet resilience, and provided additional funds to ongoing restructuring plans.

"The decisions we have made and are announcing today on capital will allow us to grow our tangible book value per share and accrete capital, enhancing returns to our shareholders," he added.

Credit Suisse has decided to maintain a cautious outlook for the short-term due to political uncertainties currently prevailing across the world. However, the bank is more confident in its growth prospects for the medium term.

The group reported an adjusted pre-tax income of CHF 889m. Further, its Investment Banking and Capital Markets (IBCM) division reported a net revenue increase of 54%, which was the best first quarter performance over the past four years.

Credit Suisse is anticipating a recovery in global growth after the optimistic outlook of the recently released World Economic Outlook report published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).