Losses may not mean end of Credit Suisse investment banking

When asked if this week's news that Credit Suisse would cut 11 percent of its workforce, as it revealed it made a net loss of about 3 billion Swiss francs ($2.5 billion) in October and November, meant the end of Credit Suisse's investment banking arm, Chairman Walter Kielholz told Finanz und Wirtschaft. "No, but today there is no more question that investment banking in future will basically be conducted within universal banks, whether in combination with strong international retail banking or, in the case of Credit Suisse, with a global private banking," Kielholz said. The bank said the loss, primarily in investment banking, where most of the job cuts will fall, was due to adverse market conditions and to the cost of reducing risk.Credit Suisse's job cuts have pared its workforce to about 45,000. Its investment bank will have 17,500 staff by the end of 2009.Kielholz also told the newspaper Credit Suisse was not aware of any investigation into the bank by U.S. tax authorities.The New York Times reported this week that the U.S. Department of Justice has expanded its criminal investigation into foreign banks that sell offshore private banking services to include Credit Suisse and HSBC Holdings Plc, citing people briefed on the matter.