Credit Suisse is hurting. Cost cuts and balance-sheet shrinkage have combined with weak markets to drag the Swiss bank to its first quarterly loss since 2008. Chief Executive Brady Dougan thinks he can get ahead of the pack by restructuring now. But, payback still depends on business picking up.

Dougan diet

Business Standard

When Germans take on Brits at soccer, the Germans tend to win. Not so for the countries&rsquo; largest investment banks in the first quarter of the year. Yet Deutsche Bank and Barclays&rsquo; fortunes could yet converge.

Trading places

Don&rsquo;t blame me, blame the banks.&rdquo; That, in a nutshell, is Mervyn King&rsquo;s assessment of Britain&rsquo;s most severe recession for seventy years. The Bank of England governor admitted in his radio lecture to not shouting loudly enough about financial risks. Yet his retrospective largely ignored the many criticisms of central bank policy, after as well as before the crisis. That&rsquo;s a missed opportunity.

Passing the pound

Andrew Moss has chalked up a dubious achievement. On Tuesday, Aviva&rsquo;s chief executive became the first explicit victim of the &ldquo;shareholder spring&rdquo; sweeping corporate boardrooms. Last week&rsquo;s investor revolt over the insurer&rsquo;s pay plan was the lightning rod for broader and deeper dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, his departure raises the stakes for future uprisings &mdash; for both CEOs and investors.

Moss scythed

JPMorgan&rsquo;s trading loss has raised vexing questions about risk management at America&rsquo;s largest financial institution. While the bank led by Jamie Dimon avoided many of the problems that plagued competitors, the way JPMorgan looks after its large liquidity reserves needs a revamp. One rival, HSBC, may offer some pointers on how.

British reserve

In the global economic crisis, central bankers are often portrayed as superheroes. Mario Draghi: the only man who can save the Euro zone. Ben Bernanke: &ldquo;please do more&rdquo; for the US economy. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is unhappy with the image of omnipotence: its latest annual report laments that central bank money-printing and support for the financial sector are reaching their limits.

Basel Bemoans

HSBC can&rsquo;t leave its developed-world headaches behind. More than a year after new Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver sketched out plans to focus on growth in emerging markets, the bank has set aside $2 billion for mis-selling in the United Kingdom and money-laundering in the United States. The setback will only reinforce HSBC&rsquo;s strategic shift.

First world problems

UBS is making a habit of springing nasty second-half surprises. Eleven months ago, the Swiss bank shocked investors with a two-billion Swiss franc rogue trading loss. Now it has fessed up to dropping 350 million francs on Facebook&rsquo;s bungled initial public offering. In an already tough second quarter, it&rsquo;s the last thing UBS&rsquo;s slimmed-down investment bank needed.

Red Face

Urban real estate may prove a deceptive safe haven. Investors seeking refuge from economic turmoil in the Euro zone and mainland China are snapping up prime houses and apartments in the likes of London and Hong Kong.

Peter Thal Larsen