Credit Suisse flags 6,500 job cuts in 2017 after 2.44 billion Swiss franc loss

By Joshua Franklin

ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse will cut up to 6,500 more jobs in 2017, as Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam pushes ahead with a major restructuring which he said on Tuesday might now no longer include floating the bank's Swiss business.

The plan to spin off a minority stake in the Swiss banking division was partly to raise cash to bolster the group's capital, but this improved more than expected in the fourth quarter.

The additional job cuts come after Switzerland's second-biggest bank reported a 2.44 billion Swiss franc (2 billion pounds) net loss for 2016. But Thiam struck an optimistic tone for the year ahead.

"We are now well-placed to capture growth and benefit from improving market conditions as a result of the tough actions we took in 2016," he told a news conference.

Since taking over just over 18 months ago, Thiam has been on a cost-cutting drive while shifting the business towards wealth management and putting less emphasis on investment banking.

The bank cut a net 7,250 jobs in 2016 and said there would between 5,500 and 6,500 more will this year. It employed around 47,000 people at the end of 2016.

Credit Suisse did not specify where the extra cuts would come but said they would include contractors, consultants and staff.

The 2016 loss -- the bank's second straight year in the red -- came largely on the back of a roughly $2 billion charge to settle U.S. claims the bank misled investors in the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.

Despite the loss, Credit Suisse were up 1.4 percent by 1318 GMT, ahead of the broader European banking index.

SWISS LISTING

Investors were encouraged by the bank's better-than-expected 11.6 percent common equity Tier 1 capital ratio, which is an important measure of balance sheet strength.

"It's the capital that surprised positively," said Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti, who has a "hold" rating on the shares.

Credit Suisse has faced questions over its capital levels for years, going back to Thiam's predecessor, Brady Dougan.

In an effort to strengthen its capital, the bank had announced plans to raise 2-4 billion francs by selling up to 30 percent of its Swiss business in an initial public offering.

But there has since been speculation among some analysts and investors that the bank could reconsider selling a stake in the business, considered one of the group's crown jewels for its profitability.

Thiam said the bank was still preparing for the IPO but left the door open to alternative options to strengthen its balance sheet "if there are ways to reach a more attractive risk/reward outcome for our shareholders".

"The likelihood (of the IPO) has gone down," Venditti said.

In wealth management, Credit Suisse saw net outflows in the fourth quarter as clients pulled cash to participate in tax amnesty programmes and it dropped some external asset managers.

Cross-town rival UBS, the world's biggest wealth manager, also saw net withdrawals in the fourth quarter due to tax amnesty programmes in emerging markets and Asia Pacific.

Credit Suisse said all its wealth management divisions had seen positive inflows so far this year.

The bank proposed an unchanged dividend of 0.70 francs per share, in line with market expectations.

($1 = 1.0040 Swiss francs)

(Additional reporting by Oliver Hirt in Zurich and Simon Jessop in London; Editing by Michael Shields and Jane Merriman)