The Swiss bank says the move - which will entail the closure of the Zurich-based securities and treasury execution platform and affect mid-office, back-office and IT functions - will save the group Sfr140 million per annum. The integration programme is expected to take six months to complete.

Under the programme, Credit Suisse Financial Services (CSFS) will execute securities and treasury transactions for its private banking, retail and corporate clients on the Swiss platform under its own name. In the Swiss franc market, Credit Suisse will be the group's sole funding name (including Swiss Interbank Clearing) and will take on CSFB's Swiss franc fixed income and primary market businesses.

CSFB will in future use its London execution platform to deliver securities and treasury products to its Swiss institutional, corporate and government clients. Credit Suisse says CSFB's investment banking and Swiss institutional coverage businesses in Switzerland will be maintained and are not affected by these changes.

Oswald Grübel, chief executive officer of CSFS and group co-CEO effective 1 January, 2003, comments: "We are convinced that with this move, we can make even better use of our skills and infrastructure in Switzerland, while continuing to create value for our clients throughout the group. We will continue to cooperate closely with CSFB as our preferred provider of securities and treasury products."

Seperately, Credit Suisse has introduced Direct Trade Finance, billed as the first service from a Swiss bank for processing trade finance transactions online. Available over the bank's corporate client Internet portal, the system allows users to initiate, process and monitor import and export documentary credits, transferable documentary credits, back-to-back and standby documentary credits, letters of indemnity (LOI), import and export documentary collections and all standard forms of guarantees