The ratings on Credit Suisse Group (CSG) reflect the group's progress in addressing structural issues, which has contributed to its improved performance. While CSG's operating environment has stabilized, ongoing cost initiatives continue to be offset by lower revenue generation, primarily in the investment bank. In this context, Standard&Poor's expects the improvement in CSG's consolidated core earnings to be increasingly supported by sustained growth in private banking revenues, stability in its corporate and retail banking activity, and expected continued improvement in the performance of Winterthur Swiss Insurance Co. The ratings remain underpinned by the group's sound asset quality, continued strong liquidity, and improving capitalization. Although substantially improved compared with 2002, CSG's consolidated operating performance remains modest, as low revenue
