Rereading Swiss Profits in Dollar Terms

Even as US banks are making record profits, the Big Two Swiss banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, seem to be headed for more lackluster results:

Analysts expect net profit at UBS to drop by 3 percent to 3.4 billion Swiss francs ($2.82 billion), and for Credit Suisse also to clock in 3 percent weaker at 2.5 billion francs.

Before you rush to sell, however, remember what the dollar has done over that time. At the beginning of April 2006, a Swiss franc was worth 76.9 cents. At the beginning of April 2007, the same Swiss franc was worth 82.3 cents.

Let's say that UBS profits fall from 3.5 billion Swiss francs in the first quarter of 2006, to 3.4 billion Swiss francs in the first quarter of 2007. Converting into dollars, that's $2.69 billion a year ago, and $2.80 billion today. An increase of 4%, as opposed to a decrease of 3%. So it all comes down to what currency you're using.

Posted by Felix at 11:11 EST