The Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland's second largest bank, on Wednesday announced an annual loss of 8.2 billion Swiss francs (about US$7.1 billion) for 2008, its worst ever performance.

The fourth-quarter net loss of the bank was 6 billion Swiss francs (about US$5.2 billion).

Credit Suisse said the disappointing results of last year were mainly due to poor trading performance and restructuring charges.

But the bank expressed cautious optimism for the 2009 outlook.

"We entered 2009 with a very strong capital position, a robust business model, a clear strategy and well-positioned businesses," CEO of Credit Suisse, Brady Dougan, said in a statement.

"We have positioned our businesses to be less susceptible to negative market trends if they persist in the coming months and to prosper when markets recover," he said.

On Tuesday, Switzerland's largest bank UBS reported a loss of 19.7 billion Swiss francs (US$17 billion) for 2008, the highest ever annual loss by a Swiss company.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2009)