Credit Suisse says to sell client relationships to Bank CIC

ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse has agreed to sell an unspecified number of client relationships to Credit Mutuel-owned [BFCM.UL] Bank CIC (Switzerland), a spokeswoman for Credit Suisse told Reuters on Thursday.

The sale is part of a scaling-back by Credit Suisse of its client book amid rising regulatory requirements and increasing costs of banking cross-border clients.

"Credit Suisse has been aligning its service offering to focus on the markets and client segments where we can offer a competitive advantage and see most growth potential," the spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

The Zurich-based bank gave no further details.

It is the latest private banking divestiture by Switzerland's second biggest lender, which sold its businesses in Monaco and Gibraltar to J. Safra Sarasin, and also awarded Wells Fargo & Co the exclusive right to recruit Credit Suisse brokers in the United States.

Earlier on Thursday, Credit Suisse reported an unexpected net profit for a second quarter in a row though the surprise was largely down to real estate sales and Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam cautioned the outlook remained challenging.

(Reporting by Oliver Hirt; Writing by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)