Credit Suisse Takes $2B 1Q Loss

Credit Suisse took a loss of 2.1 billion Swiss francs ($2.0 billion) in the first quarter and 5.3 billion Swiss francs ($5.1 billion) in net writedowns, about 3.6 billion Swiss francs ($3.5 billion) of which appear to be mortgage-related. The mortgage-related writedowns stem from collateralized debt obligations (2.7 billion Swiss francs, or $2.6 billion), commercial mortgage-backed securities (848 million Swiss francs, or $819 million), and residential MBS (96 million Swiss francs, or $93 million). The remaining writedowns reflect leveraged-finance concerns. While the writedowns remain sizable, the company said it has made progress reducing exposures in problem areas like commercial mortgage, which has been cut by 25%. Credit Suisse also said it has reduced leveraged-finance exposures by 41%. Credit Suisse can be found on the Web at http://www.creditsuisse.com.