Dark clouds loom over Credit Suisse

The Facebook IPO no doubt cast a pall on the summer sunshine for senior Morgan Stanley executives. However, another bank that has had a torrid time recently is Credit Suisse. This is a little unexpected. The bank was a distinct winner from the 2008 crisis: it did not take government money and seemed to adapt quickly to the changing environment. However the share price performance in the past two years has been disastrous – it is down more than 60% since early August 2010 and now trades below its 2009 trough, close to a two-decade low. Other leading global banks have suffered, but not as much. Over the same period, JPMorgan’s share price is down by some 10% and HSBC shares are about 15% lower.