Credit Suisse said its pre-tax income in private banking and wealth management divisions fell by a quarter in the first three months of this year from the year-ago period, although the Zurich-listed bank as a whole swung back into a SFr2.0 billion ($1.71 billion) net income after suffering a comparable loss of SFr2.15 billion in the same quarter of 2008.

"Wealth management is positioned well for success in a changing industry landscape. We will continue to judiciously invest in growth, both globally and in our Swiss businesses,” Credit Suisse’s chief executive, Brady Dougan, said in a statement.

In private banking, which comprises the wealth management and corporate and retail banking businesses, Credit Suisse reported income before taxes of SFr992 million in the first quarter of 2009, down 25 per cent from the prior-year period, reflecting the impact of the challenging operating environment. Net revenues were solid at SFr2.9 billion, down 14 per cent.

The Wealth Management unit reported income before taxes of SFr646 million in the first quarter of 2009, down 25 per cent from the prior-year period, primarily reflecting lower revenues, which were impacted by a decline in average assets under management, and cautious client behavior.

Wealth management net revenues in the first quarter of 2009 were SFr1.925 billion, down 17 per cent from the prior-year period, reflecting a decrease in both recurring and transaction-based revenues.

The pre-tax income margin was 33.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 compared with 37.2 per cent in the prior-year period.

Credit Suisse's asset management arm reported a loss before taxes of SFR490 million compared with a loss of SFr544 million in the prior-year period. The result included mostly unrealised investment-related losses of SFr387 million, mainly in private equity positions.

Of the SFr11.4 billion net new assets in private banking in the first quarter of 2009, wealth management generated SFr9.0 billion, which represents a rolling four-quarter average growth rate of 5.0 per cent, with strong inflows from Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific and Switzerland.

Meanwhile, the bank said that Tobias Guldimann, currently chief risk officer and a member of the executive board, will assume sole responsibility for risk management on the board as of 1 June. At this time, D Wilson Ervin, chief risk officer, will leave the board and take up a new role as a senior advisor.