Credit Suisse CEO Brady Dougan not so optimistic that the credit crunch is close to over

While the chorus of Wall Street CEOs proclaiming that the credit crunch is nearing an end, Credit Suisse CEO Brady Dougan isn't quite so optimistic.  He thinks it's gonna last longer...

"I am extremely optimistic about the opportunities ahead of Credit Suisse, even as I remain very cautious about the short-term environment," Dougan said.

"Whenever there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, it has turned out to be another train coming at us," he said. "My inclination is to remain cautious."....

``I think that the markets are overly optimistic right now,'' Dougan said in a speech in Geneva today. ``There continue to be challenges and that's going to play out over the next six to eight weeks. There continue to be issues on the liquidity side.''

Increased capital requirements and ``more stringent'' liquidity management ``will limit the risk profile, and perhaps the profit potential, of financial institutions in certain market segments,'' Dougan said.

Asked about markets where potential problems may develop in the future, Dougan said he would look at ``active, buoyant areas'' such as emerging markets and commodities.

``We are trying to watch carefully to make sure our profile is conservative,'' he added.

"Despite tough market conditions, we have continued to reduce our exposure to affected areas substantially, without resorting to firesale prices. That frees us up to take advantage of opportunities emerging from the market disruption," he said.

Credit Suisse's Dougan Says Markets Are `Overly Optimistic' - Bloomberg

Credit Suisse CEO cautions on short-term markets - Reuters

Comments

[Banker]

I think the worst is behind us, but that doea not necessarily mean that things will turn up.....just not get to much worse...