Financial thoughts

Credit Suisse Group said Tuesday it has estimated the value of its assets to be $2.85 billion lower than previously calculated.

The Swiss bank said an internal review found some of its assets had been overpriced by traders.

The revaluation will have a net impact of about $1 billion on the company’s balance sheet, the bank said, adding that it expects to remain profitable in the first quarter of the year.

The bank said it has suspended "a handful" of traders in connection with the overvaluation of assets.

A spokesman for Switzerland’s second largest bank said that a small number of traders were being investigated for overvaluing asset-backed securities on its balance sheet payday loan.

"I can’t tell you exactly how many, but a small number," Credit Suisse spokesman Marc Dosch told The Associated Press.

Shares in the bank dropped sharply Tuesday following the announcement that the misvaluation will reduce earnings in the first quarter.

Credit Suisse last week announced a $1.88 billion writedown for subprime-related assets, but still posted a fourth-quarter net profit of $1.2 billion. 

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