$2.6bil fine 'won't do much damage' says bank CEO

Hours after the Obama administration announced the criminal conviction of Credit Suisse on Monday evening, the bank's chief executive, Brady W. Dougan, publicly reassured Wall Street that the punishment would not do much damage to his firm. The conviction, he said on a conference call, would not cause "any material impact on our operational or business capabilities."

And in many ways, that was exactly the outcome that the American authorities desired.

The Justice Department and bank regulators had worked hard to find a careful balance. When Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to the crime of aiding tax evasion, prosecutors did not want the action to lead to repercussions that could destabilize the bank or the wider financial system.